The Centre on Monday sounded an alert in four states and Puducherry and stepped up preparedness as Cyclone Arnab intensified over the Bay of Bengal and moved towards the Andhra Pradesh coast, where it is expected to make landfall on the morning of October 28. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry have been placed on alert.

Source: News89 (Centre alert report)

In its morning bulletin on Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the cyclonic storm was centred over the east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal at 5:30 am, located around 650 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam and moving westwards at a speed of 15 kmph. The storm is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by midnight on Monday and further strengthen into a very severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday.

According to the IMD, Arnab is forecast to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by the forenoon of October 28, with sustained wind speeds of 115-125 kmph and gusts reaching up to 140 kmph.

Separately, cyclone warning signal No. 2 has been issued at nine ports across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, officials said on Monday, IANS reported. Signal No. 2 indicates stronger gale-force winds of 62 to 88 kmph are expected within 24 hours, posing a moderate threat to life and property, and fishermen already at sea have been advised to return to shore immediately.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

The ports placed under the warning are Chennai, Ennore, Kattupalli, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Pamban and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry and Karaikal in the Union Territory. For Tamil Nadu, the available forecast does not indicate rainfall directly associated with the cyclone, IANS reported, and residents in the alert states have been advised to follow official weather bulletins and local emergency instructions as the storm approaches.