Cyclone Arnab is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, near Yanam, by the forenoon of Wednesday, October 28, as a very severe cyclonic storm. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast maximum sustained wind speeds of 115-125 kmph, with gusts reaching 140 kmph, as the system approaches the coast. The storm was located around 350 km southeast of Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal in the IMD’s bulletin issued early on Tuesday, October 27.
The cyclone is forecast to move west-northwestwards until Tuesday evening before turning northwestwards towards the coast. The IMD has warned that a storm surge of around 1 to 1.5 metres above the astronomical tide could inundate low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh during landfall, with the highest peak surge expected near Kakinada and Yanam.
