Cyclone Arnab’s toll: What officials say, what reports differ on, what is still provisional

What officials say: landfall near Narsapur, peak winds of 135 kmph, 28,000 people in shelters and crop damage on about 70,900 hectares.

Where reports differ: deaths are given as two (The Week), three (NDRF) and seven (The South First), while the Chief Minister’s letter says no human casualties.

Also differing: the number of houses damaged, 31 per the NDRF and about 180 per the Chief Minister.

Still provisional: all figures, pending state and central assessments.

Next: the IMD flags flash flood risk in 13 Andhra districts until Thursday morning.

Landfall was about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, and at the time of the report the system was 40 km southwest of Yanam and 60 km southwest of Kakinada, according to the same reports.

Peak winds were 135 kmph with gusts up to 150 kmph, according to the IMD as quoted by the Daily Pioneer.

The National Disaster Response Force confirmed three deaths in Andhra Pradesh, according to the Daily Pioneer.

The Week reports two deaths by electrocution in separate incidents, a man on Tuesday night who touched a snapped live wire and a woman on Wednesday morning in Yellamanchili who stepped on an exposed live wire.

The South First counted seven deaths across Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Konaseema and Anakapalli districts, but the state had not issued a consolidated toll, according to the Daily Pioneer.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s letter said the cyclone caused no human casualties, which conflicts with the NDRF’s confirmation, according to the Daily Pioneer.

The NDRF confirmed damage to 31 houses, and the Chief Minister said about 180 houses were hit, mostly in Konaseema district, according to the Daily Pioneer.

The Chief Minister put crop damage at about 70,900 hectares, including paddy, in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and asked for an early central assessment team.

Satellite image of a cyclone over the Bay of Bengal in 2023 (file image, not Cyclone Arnab), CIRA/NOAA via Wikimedia Commons, public domain