Kolkata: Tuesday began on a sunny note, but by evening, breakaway clouds from the outer bands of very severe cyclonic storm Arnab had started reaching the city as the system moved closer to land. Sharp showers hit Kolkata late in the evening, while Canning, Uluberia and parts of East and West Midnapore and Jhargram witnessed more intense rainfall, accompanied by gusty winds in some places.The cyclone is now interacting with the land surface, and its faster movement has advanced the expected landfall. According to the latest update, Arnab is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam during the early hours of Wednesday, between 2 am and 4 am, earlier than previously anticipated.Even though Kolkata lies well beyond the cyclone’s direct path, the system is expected to bring spells of rain to the city, with Wednesday and Thursday likely to bear the maximum impact.On Tuesday evening, Arnab was moving at a speed of 18 kmph. Its core wind speed was estimated at 155-165 kmph, though the intensity is expected to decrease before landfall. The cyclone is likely to cross the coast with sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph.“Even as the speed drops before landfall, 125-135 kmph is still a very severe cyclonic storm and can cause a lot of damage,” said HR Biswas, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.“Kolkata is likely to feel most of the impact between Wednesday and Thursday,” Biswas said.Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has stepped up preparations to prevent waterlogging in the event of prolonged rainfall. Municipal commissioner Smita Pandey has directed the sewerage and drainage department to take all preventive measures, particularly in areas vulnerable to waterlogging.“We have kept our drainage pumping stations ready. All heavy-duty pumps will be pressed into service if it pours heavily,” a KMC official said.Special sewer-cleaning teams will also be deployed in waterlogging-prone pockets, while portable pumps will be kept ready for low-lying and non-sewered areas, including Garden Reach, Behala, the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt and neighbourhoods off EM Bypass
