Cyclone Arnab aftermath: Coast Guard airlifts stranded people as floods cut off 70 villages in Odisha’s Ganjam

The Indian Coast Guard began airlifting stranded people in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Thursday (29 October), as floods triggered by the remnants of Cyclone Arnab cut off 70 villages from the rest of the state, officials said, according to PTI.

Chief Secretary Anu Garg said floods had affected 299 villages in Ganjam and the government had started airlifting 2,328 people from the 70 marooned villages. A Coast Guard helicopter completed its first sortie on Thursday afternoon, Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil said. Rescue teams of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and the fire service have evacuated 11,882 people from flood-hit parts of the district.

The Coast Guard said one of its helicopters from Bhubaneswar “braved extreme weather to rescue 6 stranded individuals, including women, children, and an elderly person, from flooded Primary Health center, Jagmohan, Ganjam district, Odisha.” They were flown to the community health centre at Dharakote.

The flooding follows days of extremely heavy rain. Patrapur in Ganjam recorded 546 mm by Thursday morning, Garg said, describing the rainfall as what the region sometimes gets in a whole year. The Rushikulya river was flowing at 19 metres at Purushottampur, above its danger mark of 16.8 metres, and Sorada was among the worst-hit areas. “Rivers are flowing in spate, making it difficult to operate boats there,” she said.

Neighbouring Gajapati district was also badly hit, with 711 villages affected and 17,441 people moved to safety. About 300 metres of National Highway 326 was washed away in Mohana block, cutting road links with Ganjam, and landslides were reported in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal. Schools and anganwadi centres in both districts will stay shut until 31 October.

Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday and has since weakened, as The Indian Idiot reported. A railway bridge was also submerged in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, halting trains in both directions, Garg said.