Cyclone Arnab Completes Landfall, Brings Heavy Rain In Andhra, Odisha

Powerful cyclone Arnab made landfall near the Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday, with the complete process taking more than six hours. Arnab, which made the landfall as a "very severe" cyclonic storm, the third-highest category on IMD's scale, is currently located over the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a bulletin issued at 9:50 am.

The cyclone was located about 20 kilometre east of Narsapur, 40 kilometre south-southwest of Yanam, 60 kilometre south-southwest of Kakinada and 90 kilometre east-northeast of Machilipatnam.

"The latest observations indicate that the landfall process has been completed with the central region moving completely into land," the IMD said.

గడిచిన 24 గంటల్లో అర్నబ్ తుపాను కదలికలు : APSDMA #CycloneArnab #ArnabCyclone #CycloneArnabUpdates #BayOfBengal #APSDMA #AndhraPradesh #RTGS #WeatherUpdate #CycloneReliefMeasuresInAP https://t.co/YDijiSMayP

— Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (@APSDMA) October 28, 2026

It said the cyclone crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts as a "very severe" cyclonic storm with the maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph.

It weakened into a "severe" cyclonic storm at 8:30 am, the IMD said.

Over 1.8 Lakh People Evacuated Due To Cyclone Arnab

Cyclone Arnab brought heavy rain to several districts in Andhra and Odisha, which evacuated more than 1,80,000 people ahead of its arrival.

In Andhra, Visakhapatnam recorded the highest rainfall at 315 mm till 8:30 am, followed by Vizianagaram at 301 mm, Anakapalli at 275 mm, Srikakulam 257 mm and Krishna at 223 mm.

Various airlines have cancelled their flights to Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada for Wednesday.

A man walks past docked boats along the harbour amid rain and gusty winds as Cyclone Arnab approaches, in Visakhapatnam on October 27
Photo Credit: REUTERS

In Odisha, Koraput saw 188 mm of rainfall, followed by Ganjam (161 mm) and Gajapai (135 mm).

No loss of life has so far been reported in either state, but power supplies have been disrupted, and trees have been uprooted. Some schools have been closed, and some train services were also cancelled.

Photo Credit: NDTV

According to officials, heavy rainfall is expected to continue on Wednesday and Thursday due to the cyclone's impact.

How Cyclone Arnab Was Named

The name Arnab was proposed by Bangladesh and is included in the official list of tropical cyclone names adopted in 2020 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Panel on tropical cyclones.

The name Arnab is commonly associated with the Bengali word for the ocean or sea.

The list contains names submitted by 13 countries: Bangladesh, India, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

High tidal waves hit the coast in Visakhapatnam ahead of Cyclone Arnab's landfall on October 27
Photo Credit: PTI

Each country contributed 13 names, bringing the total to 169. These names are used in sequence as tropical cyclones develop over the North Indian Ocean, which includes the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.

Naming tropical cyclones helps people identify individual weather systems and stay aware of their development. It also reduces confusion when multiple storms occur at the same time.