Bhubaneswar, Oct. 28 -- Odisha has evacuated 31,255 people to safety across eight cyclone-affected districts and deployed 315 disaster response teams as severe cyclonic storm Arnab completes its landfall process along the Yanam-Andhra Pradesh coast.

With heavy rainfall lashing several parts of southern and western Odisha, the state government has intensified emergency preparedness, rescue operations and restoration of essential services, with a focus on achieving its "zero casualty" target.

Chief Secretary Anu Garg, while reviewing the state's preparedness, evacuation measures and post-disaster restoration plans, said the administration had mobilised emergency response teams and shifted vulnerable people to safer locations. Of the 4,139 i...