Thirty Thousand Indian Fishing Boats Return to Indian Shores Amid Cyclone Arnab Threat

COLOMBO (News 1st): More than 30,000 Indian fishing boats that had gone out to sea have returned to ports in Andhra Pradesh amid Cyclone Arnab, according to reports.

Red alerts have been issued for seven districts in Andhra Pradesh. The cyclone was located approximately 650 kilometres southeast of Visakhapatnam in the state early this morning (27).

India’s Meteorological Department says the cyclone is expected to severely affect five states, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, today (27), tomorrow (28) and the day after (29).

Indian media reports say heavy rainfall is also affecting Tamil Nadu due to Cyclone Arnab and the northeast monsoon.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has already allocated 270 crore Indian rupees for disaster relief operations.

Authorities have also closed schools in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, according to foreign media reports.