Cyclone Arnab to hit Andhra Pradesh, 10,176 Visakhapatnam households at risk

Cyclone Arnab, now over the west-central Bay of Bengal about 260 km southeast of Visakhapatnam, is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by Wednesday forenoon as a very severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its bulletin based on 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday October 27, 2026. The district administration of Visakhapatnam has identified 37 villages in 11 mandals where 10,176 households are likely to be affected, and has readied 54 relief camps that can together accommodate 31,405 people.

The storm threatens a densely populated stretch of India's eastern coast, where the Bay of Bengal is one of the world's major regions for tropical cyclones. With maximum sustained winds forecast at 115 to 125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph, and a red alert issued for Andhra Pradesh, officials are moving people from vulnerable areas and suspending rail services.

Evacuation and shelter preparations

The Medical and Health Department has been told to keep emergency teams, ambulances and medicines ready, with special arrangements for pregnant women. The Fisheries Department is to communicate weather warnings to fishing communities and advise fishermen not to venture into the sea. At least 12 trains were cancelled in the east, while rail services on 53 routes along the southern coast were suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday, regional railway authorities said.

Extent of risk and neighbouring states

The Agriculture Department estimates that 2,048 hectares in 40 villages of four mandals could be affected, involving 3,466 farmers. Horticulture crops on 5,074 hectares in 85 villages are also at risk. Andhra Pradesh has identified 570,000 vulnerable people, ordered boats back ashore, and planned evacuations from the evening of 26 October, Reuters reported, citing a senior state disaster management official.

Odisha has so far carried out no evacuations, according to Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha. However, the state announced the closure of schools and colleges in five districts for Oct 27 and 28 and said it was preparing to move residents of low-lying areas to cyclone shelters. Nepal's authorities cautioned tourists against venturing into high altitude areas as they feared Cyclone Arnab could trigger torrential downpours, snowstorms and avalanches in the Himalayan region from Thursday night through Saturday, while the country was beginning to recover from an August flash flood that killed about 1,500 people.

The exact landfall location and timing remain uncertain, but the IMD expects the storm to cross close to Yanam by Wednesday forenoon. The final impact will depend on the storm's track and intensity at landfall, and authorities continue to monitor the situation.