Odisha evacuates over 59,000 as cyclone Arnab triggers widespread flooding

• Odisha evacuated 59,028 people, including 3,001 pregnant women, as cyclone Arnab triggered flooding across nine districts

• Authorities deployed 313 rescue teams and began airlifting people stranded in inaccessible villages in Ganjam

• Flooding disrupted rail services and national highways, while educational institutions in Ganjam and Gajapati were ordered shut until 31 October

Odisha deployed 313 disaster response teams and evacuated 59,028 people as flooding in the aftermath of cyclone Arnab inundated homes, isolated villages and disrupted transport across nine districts, officials said on Thursday.

Rescue operations were concentrated in Ganjam and Gajapati, where heavy rainfall left settlements cut off and made some areas inaccessible to boats. Authorities began airlifting stranded residents, with an Indian Coast Guard helicopter completing its first rescue sortie on Thursday afternoon.

State disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said nine National Disaster Response Force teams, 60 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force teams and 244 Fire Services teams were engaged in rescue operations. Those evacuated included 3,001 pregnant women and 11,882 residents of Ganjam.

Ganjam accounted for the largest deployment, with 45 ODRAF teams and seven NDRF teams, followed by Gajapati, where 12 ODRAF teams and one NDRF team were operational, Pujari said.

Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada and Kandhamal were also affected.

Chief secretary Anu Garg said floods had hit around 300 villages in Ganjam, leaving 70 marooned. The state coordinated with the Union Home Ministry to arrange aerial rescues after rising water prevented disaster response personnel from reaching some locations.

The government had begun an operation to airlift 2,328 people from the 70 cut-off villages, Garg said. Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil said further helicopter sorties were following the initial evacuation flight.

In neighbouring Gajapati, heavy rain and flash floods affected 711 villages. Garg said 25 rescue teams had moved 17,441 people to safer locations.

Anganwadi centres and educational institutions in both districts will remain closed until 31 October.

Transport links suffered extensive disruption. At least 36 trains were cancelled and nearly 30 diverted after floodwater submerged tracks along the east-coast section, officials said.

Traffic on National Highway-16 was disrupted near the Andhra Pradesh–Odisha border after the Bahuda river overflowed onto the road. In Gajapati’s Mohana block, around 300 metres of National Highway-326 was washed away, severing a road connection with Ganjam.

Garg said the rainfall received by Ganjam and Gajapati over the past few days was comparable to what the region normally experiences in an entire year.

Patrapur in Ganjam recorded 546 mm of rain in the period ending Thursday morning. G Udayagiri in Kandhamal received 462.4 mm, followed by Sanakhemundi with 388 mm, Raikia with 384.8 mm and Sorada with 375 mm.

Swollen rivers were hampering boat operations, Garg said, adding that around 42,500 people in Ganjam and 20,000 in Gajapati had been affected.

Odisha’s Engineer-in-Chief Dilip Kumar Rout said the Rushikulya river at Purosottampur was flowing at 19 metres, above its danger level of 16.8 metres. He warned that the water could rise further. Heavy rain had also triggered landslides in several districts.

Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said he had briefed Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the cyclone’s impact and the state’s relief and restoration work. Shah assured Odisha of all possible assistance, Majhi said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, former chief minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik questioned the state’s disaster preparedness. In a social media post, he warned that weakening Odisha’s disaster management capabilities could endanger lives and undermine economic progress in a state that remains vulnerable to natural disasters.