AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said no loss of life has been reported so far following Cyclone Arnab, crediting advance precautionary measures taken by the administration for preventing casualties.

Speaking during a teleconference with 32,000 personnel, including district collectors, the Chief Minister directed officials to minimise property damage and restore normalcy in cyclone-affected areas at the earliest.

"No loss of life has been reported so far due to Cyclone Arnab. The advance precautionary measures taken by the administrative machinery helped prevent casualties," said Naidu in an official press release.

The CM instructed officials to clear roads blocked by fallen trees within two hours and ensure immediate removal of trees obstructing national highways. Also, he directed them to restore electricity supply in affected areas once strong winds subsided.

Naidu stressed the need to provide adequate food, drinking water and medical facilities at cyclone shelters and asked officials to prevent water from entering agricultural fields, protect horticultural crops and take measures to prevent breaches in tanks and canals.

The CM asked officials to prepare preliminary estimates of crop damage and keep National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel on standby.

Further, the officials were directed to make full use of the Manamitra system to address public grievances in cyclone-affected areas and ensure that complainants were informed about the action taken to resolve their issues.

Meanwhile, Kakinada Superintendent of Police (SP) G Bindu Madhav said, "Cyclone Arnab had significantly affected the district, uprooting a few hundred trees and fewer than 100 electric poles. However, no major damage has been reported and rainfall subsided after 1 am."

Madhav said people were evacuated to relief camps as a precautionary measure and remained there due to the strong winds and roar of the storm between midnight and 1 am.

The Uppada road, running along the coast, has been completely washed away, he said, adding that rainfall was relatively low in the district with gusty winds causing the main impact.

Alluri Sitaramaraju district SP Amit Bardar said the Cyclone had limited impact on the district, as of 9 am, with trees and electric poles uprooted and some roads inundated.

“No loss of life or major damage to infrastructure, houses or livestock has been reported so far. We are monitoring the situation closely as water levels may rise due to continued rainfall,” Bardar told PTI.

An old bridge in Tadiguda village of Anantagiri mandal was washed away, isolating a hamlet, said the SP, adding that alternative arrangements were being made and restoration work was underway.

The preliminary assessment indicated limited overall impact, though the situation would continue to be monitored as rainfall persisted, he added.

Konaseema district SP Rahul Meena said gusty winds reaching up 130 kmph had uprooted trees and electric poles across the district during the Cyclone late on Tuesday night. No casualties or property damage had been reported.

Fallen trees and electric poles had blocked roads and disrupted power supply, he said, adding that electricity connections were expected to be restored by within few hours, while major highways would be cleared within two to three hours.

“Konaseema is among the worst-affected districts, with winds reaching up to 130 kmph uprooting trees and electric poles, blocking roads and disrupting power supply,” the SP told PTI.

Clearance of interior roads could take until evening, he said, adding that wind speeds had reduced and the cyclone had moved towards Kakinada after weakening slightly.

More than 10,000 people had been evacuated from low-lying areas and shifted to shelters, according to his preliminary information. Around 495 cyclone shelters and temporary relief centres had been set up.

No village inundation had been reported and water accumulated due to the storm surge had drained, he said.

Two NDRF teams and as many SDRF teams were deployed a day before the cyclone to conduct road clearance and rescue operations in response to emergency calls, he said.

Additional Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) platoons had also been deployed for clearance operations and other tasks, he said, adding that personnel from various departments were working continuously to restore normalcy by evening.