Ipsa Tripathy
Updated Wednesday afternoon, October 28, 2026
Bhubaneswar: Cyclone Arnab has crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast and begun to weaken after a night of strong winds and heavy rain across the Godavari delta. The storm moved inland on Wednesday morning, bringing some relief to coastal areas. But the danger has not passed. As Arnab travels further inland, southern Odisha is preparing for intense rainfall, flash floods and possible landslides, particularly in its hilly districts.
The India Meteorological Department said the cyclone crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast between 2 am and 8 am on Wednesday, southwest of Yanam. It made landfall around 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur and 60 km southwest of Kakinada, with sustained winds of 125 to 135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. The crossing began earlier than initially forecast, with the storm moving inland during the early hours rather than around midday.
By 8:30 am, Arnab had weakened into a severe cyclonic storm, with wind speeds falling to 110 to 120 kmph. The system is expected to continue moving north-northwest over the next two days, gradually losing strength. The forecast indicates that it could weaken into a cyclonic storm within six hours and then into a deep depression over the following six hours.
In Andhra Pradesh, Wednesday morning brought reports of fallen trees, damaged power lines and blocked roads across several coastal districts. Konaseema was among the worst affected, with strong winds uprooting trees and electric poles and disrupting electricity supplies. In Kakinada, the district police chief reported that several hundred trees and fewer than 100 electric poles had fallen. He said there had been no major damage in the city and that rainfall had eased after 1 am.
Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli all reported disruptions caused by fallen trees and power outages. Officials are also assessing damage to crops and public infrastructure, although the full extent of the losses is not yet clear. The assessment is likely to take several days.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said no deaths had been reported from the cyclone at the time of his statement and directed officials to clear roads blocked by fallen trees within two hours. However, separate reports described two electrocution deaths, including that of a 53-year-old man who came into contact with a live wire that had fallen across a field channel. The conflicting reports underline the need for a consolidated casualty assessment as rescue and restoration work continues.
The preparations made before landfall appear to have helped reduce the storm’s immediate impact on people. More than 84,000 residents had been moved to safer locations before Arnab reached the coast. With the strongest winds now easing, authorities face the next task of restoring electricity, reopening roads and assessing damage in affected communities.
For Odisha, the focus has shifted to the southern districts. Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the cyclone was expected to affect the region, with Malkangiri facing particular concern. More than 30,000 people had been evacuated across the state, and officials were continuing to move residents away from vulnerable locations.
The IMD expects the system to pass through parts of southern Odisha before moving northwest towards Chhattisgarh. Rain and strong winds have already affected Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam. Manorama Mohanty, director of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, said wind speeds in inland areas could reach 60 to 70 kmph, with gusts of up to 80 kmph.
Rainfall is now the main concern. A red alert has been issued for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, exceeding 20 cm in some places, in Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati and Kalahandi. The combination of intense rain and steep terrain raises the risk of landslides, particularly along hill roads and in areas where slopes become saturated.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also expected in Bargarh, Subarnapur, Boudh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kandhamal, Puri, Khordha and Nayagarh. Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Bargarh have also been placed under an orange alert for Thursday. Conditions may vary considerably between districts, making local warnings and updates important as the storm moves inland.
Odisha has put its disaster response arrangements on alert. According to the state’s preparations, 2,037 cyclone shelters are ready, while schools and anganwadi centres have been closed in 16 districts. All 19,143 fishing boats have returned to shore, and roads in landslide-prone areas have been temporarily closed. So far, reports from some southern districts have mentioned fallen trees, but no major damage or casualties have been confirmed in the state. Pujari said preventing loss of life remains the government’s priority.
The experience of previous cyclones has taught Odisha that a storm’s impact cannot be measured by wind speed alone. Once a system moves inland, swollen streams can rise quickly, roads can become impassable and landslides can isolate villages. Heavy rain may also damage paddy fields just as crops approach harvest, creating losses that extend beyond the immediate emergency.
The timing is significant. Thursday, October 29, marks 27 years since the 1999 super cyclone devastated Odisha. The disaster prompted major changes in evacuation planning, shelters and emergency response. Those improvements are now being tested in a different setting: not only along the coast, but also across the hills and river valleys of Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur.
Arnab’s landfall has brought some relief to Andhra Pradesh’s coastline, but the risk is shifting rather than disappearing. The coming days will depend on how much rain the weakening system delivers, how quickly rivers and streams respond, and whether emergency teams can reach communities affected by flooding or landslides. For southern Odisha, the immediate priority is to take the rainfall warnings seriously and keep people away from vulnerable slopes, swollen waterways and roads that may become unsafe without warning.
