Bhubaneswar, Oct 27: The Odisha government has intensified preparations to tackle the severe cyclonic storm "Arnab," which is rapidly moving towards the coast. With the state and district administrations on high alert, evacuation and rescue operations are running in full swing across vulnerable regions, according to Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Rajesh Prabhakar Patil.

The state administration has identified approximately 48,000 people across eight vulnerable districts for relocation to safe shelters, and evacuation has already been completed in many sensitive areas. The highest number of people has been shifted from Nabarangpur with 11,270 evacuees, followed by Gajapati with 11,000, Malkangiri with 9,850, Ganjam with 6,500, Koraput with 5,000, and Nuapada with 1,675 people, with local authorities remaining ready to shift more residents if the situation demands.

To handle emergency situations swiftly, security and disaster response forces have been deployed in heavy numbers on ground zero. The state has positioned a total of over 281 teams, comprising 48 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) units, 8 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, and 225 fire services units across various sensitive districts.

Weather conditions began changing on Tuesday morning, with rainfall breaking out in Ganjam, Puri, the capital city of Bhubaneswar, and various other coastal regions, while wind speeds and rain intensity are expected to increase progressively as the storm approaches. Given the continuous rain, hilly and mountainous areas face a heightened risk of landslides, prompting the local administration and rapid response teams to remain on strict alert. Highlighting the state's readiness, SRC Rajesh Prabhakar Patil stated that the administration is fully prepared across all districts, emphasizing that protecting human lives is the highest priority and the state government is fully equipped to handle any eventuality.

Moving westward at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour over the past six hours, the cyclone is currently positioned 380 kilometers south of Gopalpur in Odisha, 260 kilometers southeast of Visakhapatnam, and 300 kilometers east-southeast of Kakinada.