Cyclone ‘Arnab’ wreaks havoc in Odisha, over 55,000 evacuated across 9 districts

The Odisha Government on Thursday (October 29) deployed over 300 teams from different disaster response agencies for rescue operations in flood-hit Ganjam and eight other districts, as cyclone ‘Arnab’ left a trail of destruction in several parts of the state, officials said.

As many as 59,028 people, including 11,882 from Ganjam, have been evacuated to safety after their houses were inundated with floodwater, they said.

State Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said 313 teams comprising nine from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 60 from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 244 from the Fire Services Department, were engaged in the rescue operations.

The evacuated people include 3,001 pregnant women, he said.

-PTI