Cyclone Arnab: Landfall likely between 2 am and 4 am in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, flights cancelled, thousands evacuated

Cyclonic storm Arnab continued to move towards the Andhra Pradesh coast, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to parts of the state. Authorities have ordered nearly 100,000 people to evacuate their homes in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha as preparations intensify ahead of the cyclone’s expected landfall in the early hours of Wednesday.

According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) latest bulletin issued late Tuesday, cyclonic storm “Arnab” was moving at 18 kmph over the west-central Bay of Bengal. It was located about 90 km southeast of Kakinada and 170 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam.

The IMD said the storm’s outer spiral band had reached land and, due to its faster movement, landfall was expected between 2 am and 4 am on Wednesday, October 28. It is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, with sustained winds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph.

Heavy rain forecast, flights cancelled

The IMD has warned of isolated extremely heavy rainfall in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Odisha on October 27 and 28. Chhattisgarh is also likely to experience isolated extremely heavy rainfall on October 28.

The cyclone has disrupted air services in Andhra Pradesh, with airlines cancelling several flights at Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram near Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada International Airport on Tuesday.

Sixteen flights scheduled to depart from Bhogapuram on Tuesday were cancelled. Services to Delhi, Hyderabad, Kurnool, Tirupati, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai were among those affected.

NDRF deploys teams, evacuations underway

Authorities have stepped up disaster response measures across the region. NDRF Deputy Inspector General Mohsen Shahedi said meetings had been held at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and at the Cabinet Secretary level to plan the response and prevent casualties.

"Considering this, we had meetings at the NDMA and at the level of the Cabinet Secretary to work out a strategy to counter this and ensure that there is a zero-casualty cyclone," Shahedi said.

He said 31 NDRF teams had been requisitioned and deployed across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Yanam.

"In Andhra, we have 12 teams; in Odisha, we have 9 teams; in Chhattisgarh, we have 4 teams; in Telangana, we have 3 teams; and in Yanam, we have 2 teams," he said.

In addition, 60 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams have been mobilised in Odisha, while around 11 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh and other areas. SDRF teams have also been sent to Chhattisgarh.

Shahedi said evacuation plans were ready and people were being moved from areas at risk of flooding, particularly low-lying locations.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu ordered officials to "constantly monitor" the storm and take advance precautions, his office said in a statement on Monday.

"Adequate shelters and evacuation arrangements have been made," the Cabinet Secretariat said.

Odisha has opened 1,735 cyclone shelters and restricted movement in areas prone to landslides.