India Moves Tens of Thousands to Shelters as Cyclone Arnab Closes In

India is moving tens of thousands of people out of vulnerable areas along its eastern coast as Cyclone Arnab strengthens over the Bay of Bengal, according to Al Jazeera. The storm is expected to hit the coastal states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha by Wednesday morning.

The India Meteorological Department has classed Arnab as a “very severe” cyclonic storm. Al Jazeera reported that it has intensified since Monday and was centered 260km (160 miles) southeast of Visakhapatnam, the most populous city in Andhra Pradesh and a major port.

What forecasters expect when Arnab makes landfall

The weather department expects the storm to turn northwest and cross the coast by 11:30 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday. It forecasts sustained winds of 115-125km/h (71-78mph), with gusts of up to 140km/h (87mph).

The storm formed over the Bay of Bengal, which Al Jazeera described as one of the world’s main breeding grounds for tropical cyclones. The region frequently affects India’s eastern coastal areas.

How the evacuation is going

Andhra Pradesh’s disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s projected path, which runs inland and north across India. Prakhar Jain, the authority’s managing director, told Reuters that nearly 50,000 people had been moved to shelters by Monday night. An estimated 400,000 people in the state need to be evacuated, he said, and the work was still continuing.

In neighboring Odisha, authorities have announced plans to move 48,000 people out of harm’s way, according to the local newspaper The Hindu.

Why it matters for people in the storm’s path

The figures show how much of the evacuation was still ahead as of Monday night. With nearly 50,000 people in shelters out of an estimated 400,000 who need to leave Andhra Pradesh, most of those in vulnerable areas of the state had not yet been moved, based on the numbers Jain gave Reuters. The storm is expected to arrive within roughly a day of the latest reports.

Travel is also disrupted. Railway authorities in the region said on social media that at least 12 trains had been canceled in eastern India. Services on 53 routes along the southern coast have been suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Warnings reach Nepal

Authorities in Nepal have advised tourists to stay away from high-altitude areas. They are concerned that Arnab could bring heavy rain, snowstorms and avalanches to the Himalayas from Thursday night to Saturday.

What happens next

The next key moment is landfall, expected by 11:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The storm is then forecast to move inland and north across India. Evacuations in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are continuing in the meantime, and the weather department has warnings in place for both states.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera