Bhubaneswar: More than 48,000 people were evacuated, trains cancelled and several education institutions shut as Odisha rushed to batten down the hatches with very severe cyclonic storm Arnab barrelling towards the Andhra Pradesh coast, bringing intermittent rain to several parts and resulting in the death of a 40-year-old woman in Puri district’s Astaranga block on Tuesday.Lobhavati Muduli was cooking when a tree fell on her house, bringing down a brick wall on her amid heavy rain accompanied by strong winds owing to the approaching cyclone.Special relief commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said people from vulnerable areas in eight southern Odisha districts were shifted to 466 shelters as the state braced for Arnab’s impact.“Their evacuation is largely complete. Since the situation is dynamic, if needed more may be evacuated,” Patil told TOI. These apart, 3,900 pregnant women have been shifted to hospitals.IMD Bhubaneswar director Manorama Mohanty said landfall is expected between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, close to and south of Yanam, in the early hours of Wednesday.“Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab is interacting with the land surface, and the outer spiral band has entered the land. Due to faster movement, the landfall of cyclone is expected early. It is likely to make landfall between 2am and 4am on Oct 28. There is no change in prediction of path and intensity,” Mohanty said.Around 20 trains passing through Odisha have been cancelled, educational institutions were shut in several districts and disaster-response teams were deployed in vulnerable areas with IMD issuing a red warning for extremely heavy rainfall in the southern districts.Intermittent rain lashed Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Puri and Berhampur on Tuesday, while overcast conditions prevailed across much of Odisha. Waterlogging was reported on Puri’s Grand Road and in low-lying areas of the pilgrim town.Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said the state has adopted a zero-casualty approach and directed administrations to ensure shelters are ready and essential services remain available.Govt has put Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Kalahandi on special alert because of the threat of heavy rain over the next two days.IMD issued a red warning for Gajapati and Ganjam for Wednesday, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain at a few places and extremely heavy rain, exceeding 20cm, at one or two places. The red warning was extended to Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri besides Gajapati and Ganjam on Thursday.Gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph and touching 70 kmph are also likely at isolated places in Koraput and Malkangiri on Wednesday, with similar conditions forecast over Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Koraput and Malkangiri on Thursday.Among the 48,010 people evacuated from vulnerable areas, Nabarangpur accounts for 11,270, Gajapati 11,000, Malkangiri 9,850, Ganjam 6,500, Koraput 5,000, Kalahandi 2,415, Nuapada 1,675 and Rayagada 300. Disaster-response forces have been deployed on a large scale.The major trains cancelled include the Rourkela-Jagdalpur, Howrah-Jagdalpur and Visakhapatnam-Koraput expresses and Secunderabad-Bhubaneswar Express. Flight operations from Bhubaneswar were largely unaffected. However, a nine-seater aircraft flying from Utkela in Kalahandi to Bhubaneswar had to be diverted because of rain in the afternoon.Schools and other educational institutions were ordered shut in Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kalahandi, Puri and Nuapada on Wednesday. Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri had earlier ordered schools and anganwadi centres closed Wednesday and Thursday.Leave of officials in the affected districts has been cancelled and they have been directed to remain at headquarters. Round-the-clock control rooms have been activated.