Cyclone Arnab: Odisha Plans Airlift Rescue as Floods Leave People Stranded in Ganjam
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is preparing to airlift people stranded in flood-hit areas of Ganjam district as heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Arnab has worsened the flood situation in parts of southern Odisha.
State Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena said airlift operations would be undertaken to rescue people trapped by floodwaters in several villages of Sanakhemundi block, including Sindurapalli and Mundamarai.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the flood situation in Ganjam and Gajapati districts had deteriorated following continuous heavy rainfall, leaving around 2,000 people stranded in waterlogged areas. The state government is making arrangements to airlift 120 people trapped at four locations in Ganjam, she added.
According to Garg, the state government is coordinating with the Coast Guard to carry out the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall has disrupted railway services in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. A railway bridge in Srikakulam has been submerged, forcing trains to remain halted on both sides of the affected stretch, the Chief Secretary said.
#Ganjam : An Indian Coast Guard helicopter has begun rescue operations to airlift over 2,000 people stranded by severe flooding in Ganjam and Gajapati districts amid Cyclone Arnab.
#CycloneArnab #Odisha #RescueOperation #BreakingNews https://t.co/d0te5J0BqT— Lokmat Times Nagpur (@LokmatTimes_ngp) October 29, 2026
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Odisha and other affected states of all possible assistance in tackling the impact of Cyclone Arnab. Shah said he had spoken to the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Chhattisgarh and assured them of the Centre’s support.
He further said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) had been deployed and were carrying out rescue and relief operations on a war footing.
Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) will also visit the affected areas to assess the damage caused by the cyclone and determine the additional assistance required.
