The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed State Governments to keep a close watch, monitor the situation in their areas regularly and take appropriate precautionary measures in view of Cyclone Arnab. The Ministry has also asked the States to keep it informed of any developments in this regard at the Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response on telephone numbers 011-23438252, 011-23438253 and 011-23438254.
In an advisory, the Ministry has suggested evacuating people living in coastal areas to safer places and complete suspension of fishing operations. The Ministry has issued advisory to Chief Secretaries of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nādu, Puducherry, Telangana, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar. The Ministry has urged the residents of affected areas to remain indoors and avoid staying in vulnerable structures. It called for judicious regulation of rail and road traffic and urged people to follow traffic advisories issued by the authorities. People have also been advised to avoid areas that are prone to frequent waterlogging and movement in motorboats and small ships has been declared unsafe. The Ministry asked fisheries departments and fishing harbour authorities to alert fishermen and monitor subsequent marine warnings issued by the India Meteorological Department. Fishermen have been advised to plan their activities in accordance with the latest area-specific advisories till tomorrow. Maritime authorities have been asked to review communication systems, vessel tracking and search and rescue preparedness, particularly for vessels operating in areas likely to be affected.
