Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab began making landfall early on Wednesday along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, south of Yanam between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The storm held winds of 125 to 135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph, and its landfall process will continue for about three more hours because the system has slowed, moving northwestwards at just 3 kmph over the past three hours.

Source: ANI via NewKerala

The first damage reports came from the landfall zone itself: multiple trees were uprooted and power lines snapped at several places in Kakinada, while uprooted trees blocked Beach Road and the Seethammadhara area in Visakhapatnam as heavy rain and gusty winds lashed the coast.

125-135 kmphSustained winds at landfall
150 kmphGusts
200 mm+Rain already recorded in Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam
1.5-2.5 mStorm-surge alert near Kakinada and Yanam

The IMD said extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 200 mm was recorded at several locations in Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts between 8:30 am on October 27 and 3:00 am on October 28. It issued a major inundation alert, saying a storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 metres above the astronomical tide is very likely to submerge low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh during the next four to five hours, with the peak surge expected near Kakinada and Yanam.

Source: ANI via NewKerala

On the ground, around 290 shelters have been set up in Andhra Pradesh and 84,396 people have been evacuated to them so far, with state and district control rooms working round the clock and cyclone bulletins issued every hour. Odisha has evacuated nearly 48,000 people from high-risk areas, more than 30,000 fishing boats have been brought back from the sea, and the NDRF, SDRF, Navy and Coast Guard are on alert.

Source: Daily Jagran

Odisha warnings, and what happens next

For Odisha, the IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy rain at one or two places, over Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts, along with thunderstorms and gusty winds of 60 to 80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph; ten more districts are under an orange warning. The IMD expects Arnab to move slowly northwestwards at first and then north-northwestwards, with surface winds over the landfall area holding at landfall strength during the crossing before gradually decreasing. The early wire reports carried damage to trees and power lines but no confirmed casualty figure in the first hours of landfall; residents in low-lying areas have been told to stay in shelters and follow official bulletins.