बेबाक · Editorial
Cyclone Arnab: Odisha and Andhra Pradesh Saved Lives, but Farmers and Fishers Still Bear the Loss
Evacuation protected thousands of people. The test now is whether India can restore power and replace lost crops and boats as reliably as it moved people out of harm's way.
The storm's path
Cyclone Arnab struck Andhra Pradesh first. According to the India Meteorological Department, it completed landfall with its central region fully over land and then weakened. Reports on the death toll in Andhra Pradesh differ. Some newsrooms put it at five, while a later count puts it at nine, so the final figure should be treated as unsettled. The storm then moved towards Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where heavy rain was forecast. Railways in Odisha cancelled further passenger services as a precaution because the cyclone was approaching faster than expected. Seventeen Odisha districts were hit by heavy rain, with Gajapati the worst affected. In West Bengal's Bankura district, strong winds through Raipur and Sarenga destroyed paddy across large areas of farmland.
Lives were protected
The most encouraging figure from this cyclone comes from Odisha. Before the storm arrived, the state moved 2,245 pregnant women to healthcare institutions. During the disaster, 931 babies were born, and mothers and newborns were reported to be doing well. Some parents named their children Arnab, Barsha and Toofan. An evacuation on this scale does not happen by chance. It depends on knowing where expectant mothers are, getting them transport, and having facilities ready to receive them. In the same week, Telangana extended support to Andhra Pradesh for restoration work, which is a good example of states helping each other. Odisha's record on protecting people during this storm deserves to be recognised.
Two fair arguments
Both sides of the debate after the storm have a point. Andhra Pradesh has written to the Union Minister asking for central help for farmers. Its case is strong. Preliminary reports show crops damaged across 2,24,489 hectares in 14 districts, affecting about 3.45 lakh farmers. A household that loses a season's harvest cannot wait for paperwork to be completed. The case for caution is also reasonable. Preliminary estimates are not verified assessments, and public money should go to verified losses. Paying compensation every few years without making farms and harbours more resilient means paying for the same damage again and again. Each side is right about something, and a sound policy has to take both points seriously.
Damage beyond the coast
Visakhapatnam shows how much damage remains after people are safe. One report described the storm as a test of whether the lessons of Cyclone Hudhud had been learned. The results were mixed. Power outages continued because fallen trees, damaged feeders and strong winds slowed repairs. At the Visakhapatnam fishing harbour, nearly 100 mechanised boats were damaged and five sank. Fishermen are asking for compensation and support for their livelihoods. When a boat is lost, the people who work on it lose income too, not just its owner. There was one benefit: rainfall of 15 to 25 cm from Srikakulam to Amalapuram filled the reservoirs, and Visakhapatnam is not expected to face a water shortage next summer. That helps the city's water supply but does nothing for a farmer whose crop has been ruined.
Assessment
India has become good at keeping people alive through cyclones. It has not yet become good at helping them recover their income afterwards. The 2,245 evacuated mothers and the 3.45 lakh affected farmers came through the same storm, but they are being treated very differently. One group was protected by advance planning. The other must wait for relief that depends on assessments, letters to the Centre and negotiation between governments. The long power outages in Visakhapatnam suggest that strengthening infrastructure after earlier cyclones may not have gone far enough. This calls for reform, not blame. The evacuation shows that the administration can act quickly. The same speed now needs to be applied to recovery.
What should happen next
Four steps are practical. First, the Centre and states should carry out joint crop-loss assessments within a fixed deadline, using one set of satellite and field data that both accept. Payments should then reach farmers in all 14 affected Andhra Pradesh districts before the next sowing season. Second, ports such as Visakhapatnam need a clear protocol for securing mechanised boats when a storm approaches. They also need an insurance product for fishing vessels that covers both damage and lost working days. Third, power utilities should place feeders underground or reinforce them along the coastal routes that failed during this storm. Fourth, the support Telangana gave Andhra Pradesh should become a standing arrangement through which states share repair crews.
A state that can move 2,245 expectant mothers to safety before landfall can also settle a farmer's claim before the next sowing season.
What this editorial rests on
Drawn from our live multi-newsroom feed — read the reporting at source.
An editorial is the considered opinion of the FarziUPSC desk, argued from the sourced reporting above and written under our published persona, बेबाक. We name institutions, not parties. If we are wrong, we will say so. How we work →