Severe Cyclone Arnab makes landfall along Andhra coast with 150 kmph gusts, heavy rain

New Delhi: Severe Cyclone Arnab began making landfall early Wednesday along the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, bringing torrential downpours across the region, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD reported that the cyclonic storm maintains a core wind intensity of 125 to 135 kmph, with gusts reaching up to 150 kmph.

Having moved in a northwestward direction at a speed of 3 kmph over the preceding three hours, the system is projected to progress slowly northwestwards initially before shifting along a north-northwestward trajectory.

"Landfall process will continue for the next 3 hours," the IMD stated in its hourly bulletin.

The precise point of landfall is located between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, situated south of Yanam. Surface wind speeds across the landfall zone are anticipated to hold at 125 to 135 kmph, gusting up to 150 kmph over the next three hours, before progressively tapering off, meteorologists confirmed.

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In the wake of the storm's impact, numerous trees were uprooted, and electricity lines were severed across multiple areas in Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada district. Heavy precipitation accompanied by strong wind gusts also struck parts of West Bengal. In Visakhapatnam, gale-force winds and downpours brought down trees, obstructing major thoroughfares including Beach Road and Seethammadhara.

The IMD issued a major inundation alert, warning that a storm surge reaching 1.5 to 2.5 metres above the normal astronomical tide is highly likely to flood low-lying coastal belts of Andhra Pradesh over the next four to five hours, with peak surges anticipated near Kakinada and Yanam in the Puducherry Union Territory.

The meteorological office noted that extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 200 mm was logged across several stations in Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts between 8:30 a.m. on October 27 and 3:00 a.m. on October 28.

In neighbouring Odisha, authorities issued severe weather alerts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at several places, with extremely heavy downpours at isolated locations across the districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput, Nawarangpur, and Malkangiri. These districts are also expected to experience severe thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty surface winds ranging between 60 and 80 kmph, with peak gusts reaching 90 kmph.

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Under an orange warning, heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted for Kalahandi, Kandhamala, Nuapada, Balangir, Bargarh, Puri, Khordha, Sonepur, Boudh, and Nayagarh, alongside lightning and winds of 40 to 50 kmph, gusting up to 60 kmph.

Furthermore, a yellow alert was activated forecasting heavy rainfall at isolated locations across Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghapur, and Cuttack, coupled with thunderstorms and surface winds of 30 to 40 kmph, gusting to 50 kmph, valid from October 28 through 8:30 p.m. on October 29.

ANI