Cyclone Alert / Nabarangpur Steps Up Cyclone Arnab Preparedness; 134 Shelters Identified

Nabarangpur, Oct 26: The Nabarangpur district administration has stepped up preparedness to deal with the possible impact of Cyclone Arnab, putting emergency response teams, round-the-clock control rooms, shelters and evacuation arrangements in place to protect residents.

District Collector Madhumita reviewed preparations by various departments on Monday, emphasising public safety, swift rescue operations and coordination among agencies. The administration also held a virtual preparedness meeting with officials from Jagdalpur in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, NMDC personnel and the Jagdalpur district collector.

The district’s preparedness measures were also presented at a state-level coordination and review meeting chaired by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari.

Five ODRAF Teams And 12 Fire Service Teams Ready
Three Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams have been allocated to Nabarangpur district. Of these, two teams from the 7th Special India Reserve Battalion (SIRBN) are to be deployed in Kosagumuda block and one in Nabarangpur block.

As many as 12 fire service teams have been kept ready with the required personnel and equipment. The administration has also identified 251 vehicles, along with drivers, to support rescue and evacuation operations.

Four senior officers have been assigned to monitor vulnerable blocks, while nodal officers have been designated at block and gram panchayat levels to coordinate local response measures.

134 Shelters Identified, 60 Villages Marked Vulnerable
The administration has prepared 10 multipurpose cyclone and flood shelters equipped with backup power, drinking water and sanitation facilities. Another 124 temporary shelters have been identified and kept ready, with a nodal officer appointed to manage each shelter.

Officials have identified 22 vulnerable gram panchayats and 60 vulnerable villages in the district. Urban drainage systems have been cleaned to address possible waterlogging, and dangerous trees have been removed from several locations.

Emergency food supplies include 35 quintals of flattened rice and 3.5 quintals of sugar for distribution at designated shelters. A stock of 2,030 polythene sheets has also been maintained across the district’s 10 tehsils for relief operations.

83 Pregnant Women Shifted
The administration has identified 320 pregnant women in view of possible weather-related emergencies. Of them, 83 have been shifted to 'Maa Gruhas' (Maternity Waiting Homes), while arrangements are being made to move the remaining women to safe locations according to their needs.

Officials have also been instructed to monitor water levels in rivers and reservoirs continuously and take prompt action if levels rise abnormally.

For emergency water rescue operations, one powerboat has been deployed at Indravati Ghat, while nine boats belonging to the Fire Services Department are available for rescue work.

24-Hour Control Rooms Activated
Round-the-clock control rooms have been made operational at district, block, tehsil and urban local body levels to receive emergency information, coordinate departments and facilitate prompt assistance.

Residents can contact the District Emergency Operations Centre in Nabarangpur at 06858-222434 for emergency assistance.

Also Read: Cyclone Arnab Forms Over Bay Of Bengal, Red Alert For Five Odisha Districts

Cyclone Latest Update
The Bay of Bengal witnessed the formation of Cyclone 'Arnab', the first cyclonic storm of the year in the region, as the weather system intensified from a deep depression on Monday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast further intensification, with the system likely to become a severe cyclonic storm by October 27 and a very severe cyclonic storm by October 28.

The cyclone has been moving west-northwestwards over the east-central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal. According to the forecast by the regional centre of IMD in Bhubaneswar, the cyclone is likely to approach the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam by the morning of October 28.

The system is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts as a very severe cyclonic storm by the forenoon of October 28, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 115-125 kmph and gusts reaching 140 kmph.