Cyclone Arnab Hits Andhra Coast at 150 km/h, Heavy Rain and High Alert Across Eastern India

Cyclone Arnab crashed into the Andhra Pradesh coast at midnight. India's Mausam Bhavan said the landfall process began at 1:20 a.m. on Tuesday night, near Yanam in Puducherry, close to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

At that time the storm was blowing at 125 to 135 kilometres per hour, rising to 150 kilometres per hour. According to the Mausam Bhavan bulletin, the cyclone's centre was over the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, close to south of Yanam. The weather office said the full landfall process would take about four hours to complete.

India's weather department said the cyclone moved faster than its scheduled time. According to its latest observation, the cyclone's outer cloud bands had already entered land and its main part was creating friction with the ground. The storm would cross the coastal area between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, and heavy rain and gusty winds were forecast to continue along the coast after 4 a.m.

After the landfall process began, the storm's intensity increased further in Andhra Pradesh and a high alert was issued. Heavy rain was falling in Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and parts of southern Odisha, and wind speeds had also increased. Power services were disrupted in several places.

Under the cyclone's impact, several trees were uprooted on a national highway near Yanam. Disaster response forces were arranging to quickly remove the trees from the middle of the road. Because of the storm, flight services were suspended at three airports in Andhra Pradesh, several flights were cancelled, and train services were also cancelled.

The Andhra Pradesh government took major preparations before the cyclone hit. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said 2,199 cyclone shelters had been kept ready in the state for disaster management. He said a special plan was taken to move people to safe places in advance to save them from the storm, and many people had already been moved from coastal areas to these centres.

In that plan, the elderly, children, people with disabilities and pregnant women were given the highest priority. As part of special precautions, 2,360 pregnant women from at-risk areas were safely moved to various hospitals and health centres so their treatment would not be disrupted in an emergency. The administration directed coastal residents to stay safe and not go outside during the disaster unless necessary.

Storm and rain were also occurring on the West Bengal coast. The storm's impact was seen in Kolkata and other districts from the night, with rain starting at night along with gusty winds. On Wednesday there was a yellow alert in Kolkata and all districts of South Bengal, with gusty winds of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour possible.

Heavy rain of 7 to 11 centimetres was forecast in South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore and Jhargram, with gusty winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour possible in those four districts. On Thursday there was also a storm and rain alert in Kolkata and all South Bengal districts, with heavy rain possible in East and West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura. On Friday the storm and rain alert covered East and West Burdwan, Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia.

Heavy rain was forecast on Thursday and Friday in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts, with a yellow alert for storm and rain in the remaining districts as well. The weather office warned that landslides could occur in hilly areas due to the rainfall. On Saturday there was a storm and rain alert for the hills and five adjoining districts.

Fishermen were barred from going to sea off the West Bengal and Odisha coasts until Thursday.