(Reuters)
BHUBANESWAR/HYDERABAD, India, Oct 28 – Trees crashed onto highways, electricity poles were uprooted and thousands took shelter against Arnab, a powerful cyclone which made landfall on India’s east coast on Wednesday, authorities said.
More than 180,000 people had been evacuated in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha ahead of the cyclone’s arrival.
No loss of life has been reported in either state, though power supplies have been disrupted and trees have been uprooted. Some schools have been closed and some train and flight services cancelled.
Arnab, classified by the India Meteorological Department as a very severe cyclonic storm, the third-highest category on its scale, made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast on Wednesday morning, with the cyclone’s centre then moving fully inland, the agency said.
Visuals on television showed trees fallen on highways as workers in rain gear worked to clear the road of branches and leaves.
“No one knew whose house the water would rush into next, or whose home would be submerged,” said Nagi, a resident of Kakinada district in Andhra Pradesh, one of the areas in the path of the storm.
“Trees have fallen, houses have been damaged, and all our belongings, including our books, have been destroyed,” said Nagi, who did not give a last name.
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