The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has raised its landfall wind forecast for very severe cyclonic storm Arnab to maximum sustained winds of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph, as evacuations gathered pace on the Andhra Pradesh coast on Tuesday.

In its bulletin quoted by Outlook Traveller, the IMD said Arnab moved west-northwestwards at 20 kmph over the past six hours and lay centred at 0830 hrs IST on Tuesday over the west-central Bay of Bengal, 220 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 240 km east-southeast of Kakinada and 370 km south of Gopalpur.

The storm is expected to move west-northwestwards till Tuesday evening and then northwestwards, crossing the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by the forenoon of Wednesday, 28 October, the IMD said.

ANI reported earlier on Tuesday that a massive disaster response was under way, with 16 districts on high alert. Outlook Traveller reported that around 89,000 people in the Kakinada region have been evacuated to 101 relief camps.

In Visakhapatnam district, 10,176 households across 37 villages were identified as at risk, with 54 relief camps established that can accommodate 31,405 people, Outlook Traveller reported.

Skymet Weather, citing the IMD forecast, warned of a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 metres above the astronomical tide in low-lying coastal areas and of isolated extremely heavy rainfall on 27 and 28 October. Residents should follow the latest official IMD bulletins and local authority instructions.