Cyclone Arnab hits India's Andhra Pradesh coast; more than 84,000 people moved to shelters
The very severe cyclonic storm Arnab made landfall on India's Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of Wednesday, 28 October, with winds of 125–135 km/h gusting to 150 km/h. More than 84,000 people were moved to shelters; no casualties had been reported by the morning.
Cyclone Arnab, classed as a very severe cyclonic storm, crossed the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh early on Wednesday, 28 October. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the landfall process began at around 1:20 a.m. local time near Yanam, close to Kakinada and Narsapur, and was expected to last about four hours, with sustained winds of 125–135 km/h gusting to 150 km/h.
The IMD warned of a storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 metres above the astronomical tide, likely to flood low-lying areas, with the highest surge expected near Kakinada and Yanam. Some places on the coast had already received close to 200 mm of rain in the 16 hours before landfall. The weather office expects Arnab to weaken quickly over land, to a cyclonic storm by late morning and a depression by the night.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said 290 shelters had been opened and 84,396 people moved into them. More than 30,000 fishing boats were called back from the sea, and nearly 5,000 pregnant women were taken to health centres and hospitals. Disaster response teams, the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard were on alert.
Heavy rain hit eight districts, including Kakinada, Konaseema, East and West Godavari, Eluru and Krishna. No injuries or deaths had been reported by Wednesday morning, according to The Indian Express, although some old, empty buildings collapsed. Officials warned of possible flooding on the Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers and said about 716,000 hectares of crops could be affected. Airlines warned of disruption at airports in the region.