Cyclone Arnab hits Andhra Pradesh as 180,000 are evacuated

Key takeaways

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Arnab's landfall process began at about 01:30 IST on Wednesday (20:00 UTC on 27 October) near Narsapur in West Godavari district.
• More than 180,000 people were moved to safety in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha before the storm arrived, according to Reuters.
• The IMD later downgraded Arnab from a "very severe" to a "severe" cyclonic storm as it moved inland.
• Power cuts, fallen trees, school closures and cancelled trains and flights have been reported; operations at three Andhra Pradesh airports were suspended.
• Reports on deaths differ: Reuters and Al Jazeera reported no loss of life, while India.com's live coverage later cited officials reporting two electrocution deaths.

Cyclone Arnab made landfall on India's Andhra Pradesh coast near Narsapur early on 28 October as a very severe cyclonic storm, lashing Kakinada and nearby districts with winds up to 135 km/h after more than 180,000 people were evacuated.

What happened

Arnab formed over the Bay of Bengal and moved towards India's east coast earlier this week. According to India.com's live coverage of IMD bulletins, the landfall process began at around 01:30 IST on Wednesday (20:00 UTC on Tuesday, 27 October) near Narsapur, covering the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts. The IMD reported sustained winds of 125–135 km/h near the storm's centre, gusting to 150 km/h.

The storm moved slowly. In its 08:45 IST bulletin (03:15 UTC), the IMD said the centre was "very close to the coastline", and at about 10:22 IST (04:52 UTC) it described the system as "practically stationary" along the coast, India.com reported. The Associated Press, in a report from Hyderabad, later quoted the IMD as saying the "landfall process was complete", with heavy rain and strong winds expected to continue in coastal Andhra Pradesh and parts of southern Odisha.

Al Jazeera, drawing on AFP and Reuters reporting, said Arnab crossed the coast as a very severe cyclonic storm, the third-highest category on India's scale, and was downgraded to a severe cyclonic storm after moving inland.

Evacuations and preparations

Authorities moved people out of low-lying and flood-prone areas on Tuesday. The AP reported that at least 89,000 people had been evacuated in Andhra Pradesh, according to an official statement, while Odisha planned to evacuate about 48,000. A later Reuters report, published by NBC News at 07:35 UTC on Wednesday, put the combined total at more than 180,000.

According to the AP, Andhra Pradesh's disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the storm's expected path. The state set up more than 2,000 cyclone shelters across 20 districts, sent emergency alerts to millions of mobile phones, secured more than 30,000 fishing boats and deployed nearly 1,100 medical teams. Prakhar Jain, who heads the state disaster authority, said the cyclone had weakened slightly before landfall, the AP reported.

Rainfall recorded

IMD stations in Andhra Pradesh recorded heavy rain in the 21 hours to 05:30 IST on Wednesday (00:00 UTC), according to figures published by India.com.

In Odisha, Chandbali and Dhamnagar recorded more than 50 mm of rain by late morning, India.com reported. The IMD warned of a storm surge of 1.5–2.5 metres over Kakinada and Yanam, which could flood low-lying areas.

Damage and disruption

Reuters reported that power supplies were disrupted, trees were uprooted, including onto highways, and some schools were closed. Some train and flight services were cancelled, and India's civil aviation ministry suspended operations at three Andhra Pradesh airports, according to the same report. The weather department expects damage to crops, thatched houses and communication lines.

A resident of Kakinada district told Reuters: "No one knew whose house the water would rush into next, or whose home would be submerged."

What we know and what we don't know yet

• Known: landfall began near Narsapur in the early hours of 28 October IST; more than 180,000 people were evacuated; the storm has weakened to a severe cyclonic storm.
• Unclear: the death toll. Reuters and Al Jazeera reported no loss of life. At about 12:13 IST (06:43 UTC), India.com's live coverage cited officials as saying two people died of electrocution in separate incidents in Andhra Pradesh. That figure could not yet be confirmed by a second source.
• Not yet known: the full extent of damage to homes, crops and infrastructure, and when power and transport will be restored.

Background

India's east coast is regularly hit by Bay of Bengal cyclones in the post-monsoon season. A super cyclone that struck Odisha in October 1999 killed nearly 10,000 people, Reuters noted, and India has since developed early-warning systems and preventive measures for storms of this kind.

The wider weather system is also affecting neighbouring countries. Nepal suspended trekking permits to high mountain areas for three days during peak season, when about 750 hikers receive permits each day, over fears of heavy rain, snowstorms and avalanches, Reuters reported. Al Jazeera reported that schools closed in Sri Lanka, where the Department of Meteorology warned of flash floods and landslides.

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What it means

The early evacuation of more than 180,000 people appears to have limited the human toll so far, but the risk is not over. Arnab is moving slowly, which means heavy rain can keep falling on the same districts, and storm-surge flooding in low-lying coastal areas around Kakinada and Yanam remains the main danger. Travellers should expect further train and flight disruption in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and residents should follow IMD and state disaster authority warnings until the system weakens further.