Arnab’s Rains Flood Odisha and Prompt Rescue Preparations

Cyclone Arnab weakened after making landfall on India’s Andhra Pradesh coast, but its rain caused serious flooding in southern Odisha, leaving villages cut off and prompting rescue preparations. Authorities in Nepal also warned that the storm’s remnants could bring rain and raise landslide and flood risks on major highways. In Odisha, Chief Secretary Anu Garg said about 2,000 people were stranded in Ganjam and Gajapati, including roughly 300 villages cut off in Ganjam. The state planned to airlift about 120 people from four locations in Ganjam in the first phase. Continuing rain and low clouds could delay flights, Garg said. Indian Coast Guard helicopters were to carry out the rescue missions, while the state government said Indian Air Force aircraft were expected to join. Flooding followed heavy rainfall across the state. The India Meteorological Department issued flash-flood alerts for nine southern and western districts on October 28: Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Balangir, Kandhamal and Ganjam. It reported 25 centimeters of rain at Mahendragarh in Gajapati, the highest among the locations listed in that update. Trees were uprooted, low-lying...