Cyclone Arnab heads for India's Andhra Pradesh coast; weather office issues "Red Message" warning

As of 7:09 a.m. ET, Oct. 26, 2026

Cyclone Arnab is expected to strengthen into a very severe cyclonic storm and cross India's Andhra Pradesh coast by the forenoon of Wednesday, Oct. 28, the India Meteorological Department said Monday, issuing a cyclone warning with a "Red Message" for Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts.

The storm is forecast to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, with maximum sustained winds of 115-125 km/h (71-78 mph) gusting to 140 km/h (87 mph), according to IMD National Bulletin No. 9, issued at 2:30 p.m. India time (5 a.m. ET).

At 8:30 a.m. India time (11 p.m. ET Sunday), Arnab was centered over the east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal, about 610 km (380 miles) east-southeast of Visakhapatnam and 580 km (360 miles) southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha, the IMD said. It was moving west-northwest at about 15 km/h (9 mph) and is forecast to become a severe cyclonic storm by Monday evening and a very severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday.

The IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy rainfall of 21 cm (8 inches) or more at isolated places, over coastal Andhra Pradesh on Oct. 27 and 28, and over south Odisha on Oct. 28. It said a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 meters (3.3 to 4.9 feet) above the astronomical tide is very likely to inundate low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh at landfall, with the highest surge expected over East Godavari district near Kakinada and Yanam. Fishermen were advised not to venture out to sea, and the department suggested evacuating coastal areas.

A senior Andhra Pradesh disaster management official told Reuters on Monday that the state government had identified 570,000 people as vulnerable and that evacuations would start Monday evening. Odisha's government said it was preparing to move residents of low-lying areas to cyclone shelters, Reuters reported.

Schools, colleges and Anganwadi centers in five southern Odisha districts, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri, will remain closed on Oct. 28 and 29, The Indian Express reported.