Cyclone Arnab: 260 km off Visakhapatnam, landfall near Yanam on 28 October with winds up to 140 km/h

Cyclone Arnab spent the morning of 27 October closing in on the Andhra coast as a very severe cyclonic storm, and the state’s response moved from preparation to shutdown. The 8.30 am bulletin placed the storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal, 260 km south-east of Visakhapatnam and 300 km east-south-east of Kakinada, moving west at 22 km/h over the previous six hours. The Doppler radar at Visakhapatnam is now tracking it directly.

The forecast track has not shifted. Landfall is expected between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, on the afternoon of 28 October, with sustained winds of 115 to 125 km/h and gusts to 140 km/h. Kakinada port has hoisted the great danger signal number 10, the highest on the scale; Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram are on signal 9, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam on 8.

The sea is already moving

At Uppada, north of Kakinada, the surf has thrown freshly placed boulders onto the beach road and police have closed it to traffic. At Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam the water line has advanced about ten metres, and the beach, along with every tourist spot in the city, is shut. The state disaster management authority warns of a surge up to 1.5 metres above normal tide along the Konaseema coast and of effects reaching up to 100 km either side of the landfall point. Fishermen have been told to stay ashore for three days.

Rain and wind have begun in Srikakulam and the rest of north Andhra. On 28 October extremely heavy rain is forecast for Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anakapalli, Kakinada, Konaseema, East and West Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Guntur and Yanam, with heavy to very heavy rain in Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam, Vizianagaram and Bapatla. A red alert covers Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitarama Raju, NTR, Krishna and Guntur for landfall day; the heavy rain belt moves north to Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Eluru on 29 October.

Camps, closures, helplines

Kakinada district has opened 101 relief camps and shifted 130 fishermen from Hope Island to the island colony at Turangi. Coastal villages in Konaseema, including those in Katrenikona and I. Polavaram mandals, are being moved to shelters. NDRF and SDRF teams are in position. Andhra University has declared ten days of holidays; schools and colleges in Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Konaseema are closed on 27 and 28 October.

Prakhar Jain, managing director of the state disaster management authority, asked people to stay indoors and to trust only official bulletins, warning that the storm will strengthen as it nears the coast. The Manamitra WhatsApp line 9552300009 takes cyclone complaints; Kakinada’s control room is on 0884-2356801 and 9849903879.