Cyclone Arnab kills three in India, Nepal issues aviation and weather alerts

Cyclone Arnab killed at least three people in India on Wednesday, October 28, an Indian disaster official said. In Nepal, the Civil Aviation Authority, the country's aviation regulator known as CAAN, issued a safety circular ordering airports, airlines and air traffic controllers to prepare for windshear, lightning, poor visibility and slippery runways through Saturday, October 31, Nagarik News and DC Nepal reported.

The storm, classified as a "very severe cyclonic storm" by India's weather agency, made landfall in Andhra Pradesh early Wednesday with winds of up to 135 km/h, Al Jazeera reported. Narendra Singh Bundela, a top official at India's National Disaster Response Force, told reporters three people died in the storm, Al Jazeera and ABC News reported. Officials in Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's office told Reuters that two of the deaths were caused by a falling tree and electrocution, as carried by Al Jazeera. Naidu told federal Home Minister Amit Shah in a letter that the storm destroyed at least 180 houses and brought down 220 trees, both outlets reported. More than 180,000 people were evacuated from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha a day earlier, Al Jazeera and ABC News said.

Nepal was not in the cyclone's direct path, but its weather is. CAAN's circular, issued Wednesday and based on the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology's forecast, warns of windshear, lightning, wet runways and reduced braking grip on tarmac from Kartik 12 to 14 on the Nepali calendar, which falls between Thursday, October 29, and Saturday, October 31, this year. The circular tells airlines to carry extra fuel, plan for holding patterns and diversions, and keep backup power and communication systems ready, Nagarik News and DC Nepal reported, both citing the same circular.

The hydrology department's forecast behind that circular predicts moderate to heavy rain, thunderstorms and snow in the high mountains across Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces, with some impact reaching Karnali and Sudurpaschim, meteorologist Binu Maharjan told RSS, as carried by The Rising Nepal. Partial cloud cover had reached Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim by Wednesday morning, and light rain fell in one or two places in Lumbini, she said. The department urged farmers currently harvesting paddy to check forecasts before working in the fields, and told trekkers in high hill and mountain areas to stay in safe locations until conditions improve.

Reuters reported that Nepal's Department of Immigration suspended the issuing of trekking permits to high mountain areas for three days, citing information officer Gita Ghimire, as carried by ABC News. Al Jazeera also reported the Reuters suspension story but did not name the official. That matters for a tourism industry processing around 750 trekking permits a day during peak autumn season, according to the same Reuters report.

What the coverage missed

Neither Nagarik News nor DC Nepal, the two Nepali outlets this desk could access, independently reported the trekking permit suspension. Nepal Press's report on the circular could not be opened to check.

The alerts also arrive as Nepal is still recovering from a catastrophic glacial mountain collapse in August that killed more than 1,400 people and left at least 5,000 missing, Al Jazeera reported.

What we still do not know

• Whether CAAN's circular has produced any actual flight delays or cancellations at Tribhuvan International Airport or elsewhere. CAAN and individual carriers could confirm.
• How many trekkers were already inside restricted high mountain areas when the permit suspension took effect, and whether any were stranded. The Department of Immigration and Nepal Tourism Board could answer.
• Whether the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has changed coordination between hydrology, immigration and aviation agencies since August's disaster. NDRRMA could confirm.