Odisha landslides: Cyclone Arnab toll reaches 6 as about 10 remain missing at Gidipabali, where rescuers may use explosives
Two bodies were recovered at Gidipabali in Ganjam, taking Cyclone Arnab's Odisha toll to six. About 10 are missing, and another cyclone is approaching.
At a glance
- Odisha's Cyclone Arnab death toll has risen to six after two bodies were recovered in the landslide-hit village of Gidipabali, Ganjam district.
- About 10 people are still unaccounted for there. Reports differ slightly on that number as searches continue.
- The site has no proper road access. About 170 rescuers are working there, and officials may use explosives because heavy equipment is short.
- More than 127,000 people have been affected by flooding in Ganjam and Gajapati, as Cyclone Murasu approaches the Andhra coast.
Rescuers recovered two bodies on Sunday from the landslide-hit hilltop village of Gidipabali in Odisha's Ganjam district, taking the state's death toll from Cyclone Arnab to six. About 10 people remain unaccounted for at the site, where there is no road for heavy machinery, and officials may turn to explosives to shift the debris.
The slide buried part of a remote village in the Bhanjanagar block after days of cyclone rain. Around 25 people were there when it struck. Thirteen escaped and are staying at a relief centre near G Udayagiri in neighbouring Kandhamal.
How the toll adds up
Numbers have moved through the weekend as families were traced and bodies found, so reports vary slightly. These are the latest figures from officials.
| Place | District | Confirmed dead | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gidipabali | Ganjam | 2 | About 10 missing; search continuing |
| Raikia | Kandhamal | 3 | Family including a nine-month-old child |
| Gajapati | Gajapati | 1 | Person earlier reported missing, later confirmed dead |
| Total | 6 |
Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said on Saturday that 12 were missing at Gidipabali after an elderly woman, Tara Bati Pradhan, was traced alive. Sunday's two recoveries bring that number to about 10.
Why rescuers cannot simply dig
Without a road to the village, cranes and earthmovers cannot get in, and officials have been trying to find equipment that can reach the site. According to reports, the state is now considering explosives to break up the mass, a step that carries its own risk for anyone who might still be alive beneath it.
About 170 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, the Fire Services and the Special Operations Group have been on the slope since Friday night. The Indian Navy is flying in a seismic life detection unit, which scans for signs of people trapped under soil and sludge. East Coast Railway is sending chain pulleys to help move people out of danger areas, after Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari asked Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for help.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told officials to use advanced equipment and to give saving lives the highest priority.
The wider damage from Arnab
In Ganjam, 105,622 people have been affected by flooding and 367 relief camps are open. In Gajapati, 21,782 people have been affected and 340 camps set up. Road links have returned to almost all Ganjam villages, with one still cut off and receiving supplies by air. Navy and Coast Guard helicopters have been dropping food into places that cannot be reached by road.
About 80 to 85 percent of Ganjam's power network was back by Saturday, officials said.
A second storm is on the way
There is little time. Cyclone Murasu is expected to reach the Andhra Pradesh coast early on November 3, with gusts of up to 120 kmph. The expected landfall zone is south of Odisha, but forecasters have warned of more heavy rain in a region where the hillsides are already saturated. Majhi has told officials to keep cyclone shelters ready and to move people out of vulnerable areas in good time.
What people in the affected districts should do
Anyone living below steep or recently cut slopes in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal should treat fresh cracks in the ground, tilting trees or muddy streams as warning signs and move early to a relief camp. District control rooms and the state's Special Relief Commissioner's office are issuing updates on camps and road closures.
The next official count is expected on Monday, as the search at Gidipabali resumes at first light and forecasters issue fresh bulletins on Murasu.
