A.P., Odisha on alert as cyclone ‘Arnab’ nears land

The Andhra Pradesh government has directed officials to evacuate people from flood-prone areas, prioritise vulnerable residents, and deploy disaster response teams in the wake of the cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has ordered heightened preparedness across the State, officials said, adding that 4,711 pregnant women will be shifted to safer healthcare facilities. They said 30,043 fishing boats have returned to the harbours.

Also read | Deep depression intensifies into Cyclonic Storm Arnab

With the cyclonic storm moving closer to land, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Amaravati, has issued red alerts for seven of the 28 districts in Andhra Pradesh for Tuesday (October 27, 2026). Isolated extremely heavy rainfall of 200 mm or more is likely in the districts of Kakinada, East Godavari, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, Eluru, West Godavari, Alluri Sitharama Raju, and Anakapalli, while heavy to very heavy rainfall of around 70 mm to 200 mm is likely in the districts of Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Srikakulam, and Parvathipuram Manyam on Tuesday (October 26).

The storm is likely to cross the coast as a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’, with wind speed gusting to 140 kmph, close to Yanam or Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh around noon on Wednesday (October 28).