Very severe cyclone Arnab crosses Andhra coast, weakens into severe cyclonic storm: IMD | LIVE

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Updated - October 28, 2026 10:58 am IST

NDRF personnel are restoring a road after a tree collapsed in Yanam town on October 28, 2026. | Photo Credit: V. Raju

Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts on Wednesday morning (October 28, 2026) before weakening into a severe cyclonic storm.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the landfall process is complete with the weather system moving entirely over land. “The cyclone crossed the Andhra Pradesh & Yanam coasts to the Southwest of Yanam near latitude 16.450 N and 81.90 E, about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, 40 km southwest of Yanam and 60 km southwest of Kakinada,” said the Met department in an official release.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) said no loss of life has been reported so far following Cyclone Arnab, crediting advance precautionary measures taken by the administration for preventing casualties.

Cyclone Arnab has weakened from a very severe to a severe cyclonic storm after completing its landfall, the IMD said on Wednesday. It crossed the coast between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, 40 km southwest of Yanam and 60 km southwest of Kakinada. Winds at landfall were 125 to 135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph.- Sravani Nellore

The Kakinada police rescued four persons stranded in a Central Warehousing Corporation godown in Kakinada Anchorage Port today.

In an official release, Kakinada SP G. Bindhu Madhav has stated: “ Four staff, identified as Chintala Durga Prasad, Bommidi Anand Kumar, Soorreddi Nagaraju and Ganga Appala Raju, have been stranded in the CWC godown after water entered the godown campus”.

They spent the entire night inside the godown until the police rescued them. All of them are safe and reunited with their families. They are natives of Yanam and Kakinada.

The residents along the Kakinada coast breathed a sigh of relief this morning as winds weakened, making way for the disaster response personnel to restore the roads blocked by collapsed trees between Kakinada and Amalapuram in the Godavari region.

Scores of trees have been removed on the same route. However, no human loss has been reported anywhere in the region so far.

In Yanam, every street has been blocked with the trees that fell due to high-speed winds that were associated with the landfall of cyclone Arnab. Absence of rain enabled the people to come onto the streets in Kakinada and Yanam.

The personnel from the NDRF and SDRF have intensified restoration of roads and streets.

The people of Kakinada, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema and West Godavari districts are advised to remain indoors until 11 a.m.

In many areas, banana and coconut plantations have suffered in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu today said no loss of life has been reported so far following Cyclone Arnab, crediting advance precautionary measures taken by the administration for preventing casualties.

Speaking during a teleconference with 32,000 personnel, including district collectors, the Chief Minister directed officials to minimise property damage and restore normalcy in cyclone-affected areas at the earliest.

“No loss of life has been reported so far due to Cyclone Arnab. The advance precautionary measures taken by the administrative machinery helped prevent casualties,” said Mr. Naidu in an official press release.

The centre of Cyclone Arnab was over the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast, just south of Yanam, at 6.30 a.m. on Wednesday, the IMD’s Cyclone Warning Centre in Visakhapatnam said in its 7.30 a.m. bulletin. The rear part of the storm’s wall cloud was expected to cross the coast within the following hour, completing the landfall.

North coastal Andhra Pradesh got the heaviest rain as Cyclone Arnab crossed the coast overnight. Kannuripalem in Kasimkota mandal of Anakapalli district saw about 263 mm in the 24 hours to 8 a.m. on Wednesday, the highest in the State, according to the Andhra Pradesh Directorate of Economics and Statistics (APDES). Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district and the 16th Police Battalion campus in Visakhapatnam saw about 263 mm and 260 mm.

Thirty-nine automatic weather stations all in Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts crossed 204.5 mm, the mark the IMD uses for extremely heavy rain. Within Visakhapatnam city, Simhachalam saw about 238 mm, Madhurawada about 207 mm and RK Beach about 111 mm. The IMD’s own station at Waltair in Visakhapatnam recorded 217 mm, Kakinada 118 mm and Machilipatnam 115 mm.

Rayalaseema and the southern districts stayed almost dry, with less than 7.5 mm everywhere.

As Cyclone Arnab approaches the Andhra Pradesh coast, authorities have stepped up evacuations, cancelled train services and flights, and activated cyclone shelters across vulnerable districts. The Hindu’s Sumit Bhattacharjee explains the storm’s expected landfall, the threat of heavy rain and strong winds, and how Andhra Pradesh has strengthened its disaster preparedness since Cyclone Hudhud.

Andhra Pradesh prepares for Cyclone Arnab: evacuations, travel cancellations, shelters activated, with expert insight on landfall and severest impacts.

Cyclone Arnab remained “practically stationary” along the Andhra Pradesh coast early today, and the landfall process is expected to continue for the next 2-3 hours, the IMD said, as heavy rains lashed a number of districts in the southern State.

In some places in the State, police rescued stranded people. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation on in the morning.

According to the IMD, the northern spiral band of the cyclone has further entered the land, while the storm’s centre remains very close to the coastline.

“The cyclone remains practically stationary along the Andhra Pradesh coast, and the landfall process is expected to continue for another 2-3 hours,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in an update at 5.30 a.m.

With a severe cyclone expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast on Wednesday (October 28, 2026), the Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday (October 28, 2026) held a review meeting to assess the situation and ensure the safety of flight operations.

Cyclone’ Arnab’ is forecast to intensify into a very severe cyclone and make landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast today, with wind speeds of 125–135 km/h.

The very severe cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ has begun its landfall process near Narsapur town in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, at around 1.30 a.m. on today.

Experts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), however, said it is too early to indicate the exact location of the landfall. They said the landfall process may go on for a long time, and they can indicate the tentative landfall point only after the process is over.

Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab begins landfall near Narsapur, with heavy rains, wind, and surges threatening Andhra Pradesh coastal districts.

Published - October 28, 2026 06:50 am IST

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