Visakhapatnam, Oct 27 (IANS) The outer spiral band of very Severe cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ has entered land, and it is likely to make complete landfall between 2-4 a.m., Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority said on Tuesday night.
The cyclone is interacting with the land surface, and the outer spiral band has touched the land
Earlier, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the cyclone is likely to make early landfall due to faster movement.
The cyclone is likely to make landfall during early hours (2-4 a.m.) of Wednesday (October 28).
According to latest IMD bulletin, ‘Arnab’ over Westcentral Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 18 kmph during past 6 hours, and lay centered at 1730 hrs IST of October 27 Westcentral Bay of Bengal off Andhra Pradesh coast, about 90 km southeast of Kakinada,170 km south-southwest of Vishakhapatnam, 170 km east-northeast of Machilipatnam, 240 km east-northeast of Bapatla and 410 km southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha).
It is very likely to continue to move nearly west-northwestwards during the next few hours, then northwestwards and cross Andhra Pradesh & Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to south of Yanam as a very severe cyclonic storm with the maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to150 kmph during early hours of 28th October, 2026, the IMD said.
According to APSDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain, under the impact of the cyclone, heavy to very heavy rains are likely until Wednesday morning.
Very heavy rains have occurred at 28 places since 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday. Heavy rains were recorded at 133 places.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has appealed to people to remain alert and follow the advisories issued by the government. He said moderate to heavy rainfall was likely from Srikakulam to Krishna district, accompanied by strong winds in coastal areas. The government machinery was fully prepared to minimise the impact of the cyclone and prevent loss of life and property.
He told media persons that cyclone ‘Arnab’ has been placed in the red category, but people need not panic. The cyclone is likely to affect the region from Srikakulam to Bapatla.
Coastal areas are likely to receive rain tonight and tomorrow as well, he said. Konaseema, Eluru, West Godavari, Manyam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Kakinada districts are likely to face a greater impact, with extremely heavy rainfall expected in some places.
Rainfall of up to 30 cm is possible in Srikakulam, 28 cm in West Godavari and 23 cm in Visakhapatnam. Several areas are likely to receive more than 10 cm of rainfall. Seawater may enter low-lying areas along the coast. Residents of coastal villages, island settlements and flood-prone areas are being urged to move to cyclone shelters.
The Chief Minister said 290 shelters were set up and so far, 84,396 people have been shifted to these shelters. State- and district-level control rooms are functioning round the clock, and cyclone warning bulletins are being issued every hour.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Navy and Coast Guard have also been put on alert.
More than 30,000 fishing boats have been brought back from the sea. In Gopalpur, 93 boats belonging to Andhra Pradesh, along with their crews, are safe.
–IANS
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