Cyclone Arnab triggers memories of Hudhud’s fury in 2014

Cyclone Arnab brought back grim memories of ‘Cyclone Hudhud’, which battered the city 12 years ago. Although ‘Arnab’ was less severe and did not make landfall in the city, the strong winds through the night, extensive damage to the city’s green cover, uprooted electric poles, prolonged power outages and disrupted mobile network connectivity reminded residents of the destruction caused by Hudhud in October 2014.

Residents took to social media to compare their experiences of the two cyclones. People recalled sleepless nights, prolonged power cuts and following the district administration’s instructions to remain indoors unless faced with an emergency.

P Ramya, a resident of Seethammadhara, said she was a degree student when Hudhud struck the city and was now a homemaker.

“Hudhud began at night and continued for nearly 36 hours. Though Arnab was not as strong, the powerful winds at night gave us the feeling of experiencing a milder version of Hudhud. The winds hit our balcony directly,” she said.

The prolonged power cuts also reminded her of the arrangements her family had made during ‘Hudhud’.

“We had to arrange diesel to run generators, something we had done during Hudhud 12 years ago but never needed to repeat until now,” she said.

Sashikanth Sukumaran, a businessman based along Beach Road, said extensive publicity and warnings ahead of ‘Arnab’ had raised expectations of its impact. Despite not making landfall in Visakhapatnam, the cyclone’s winds caused considerable damage, he said.

Mr. Sukumaran was a B.Tech student during ‘Hudhud’, said preparedness, public awareness and communication of weather alerts had improved considerably over the past 12 years. However, the power outages and network disruptions during ‘Arnab’ reminded residents of the difficulties they had faced during ‘Hudhud’.

K. S. R. Murthy former National Institute of Oceanography scientist and AP Federation of Resident Welfare Association (APFERWAs) member said: “Hudhud made a direct landfall on the Vizag coast on October 12, 2014, with a relatively direct track and extremely strong winds. The limited deviations in its path and its impact on a densely built-up urban area contributed to the extensive destruction, even though rainfall was comparatively less,” he said.

Mr. Murthy said; ‘Arnab’, which developed during the Northeast Monsoon season, followed a more erratic track. Although its winds were not as strong as ‘Hudhud’, but they were powerful enough to destroy the plantations in the Godavari region.”

He observed that no cyclone in the past few years had caused comparable damage to the city’s green cover, bringing back memories of Hudhud.