Cyclone Arnab Strikes Andhra With 185 Kph Winds After Mass Evacuations

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the coast of Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday, bringing peak sustained winds of up to 185 kph to the region. The system arrived a day after authorities initiated a large-scale evacuation of vulnerable coastal zones. Prakhar Jain, head of the state’s disaster management authority, confirmed the storm had weakened slightly before impact but continued to deliver heavy to very heavy rainfall across several districts.

Officials reported no immediate casualties at the time of landfall. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned that strong winds and heavy rain would persist in coastal Andhra Pradesh and parts of southern Odisha for approximately four hours after the system's center crossed the coastline. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, head of the IMD, stated that the tip of the storm system had already entered the landmass and the full passage would take around four hours.

Prior to landfall, authorities placed all coastal districts on high alert on Tuesday. This prompted the evacuation of at least 89,000 people from low-lying and flood-prone areas. State officials noted that the outer bands of the cyclone began affecting the coast late Tuesday as the storm intensified over the Bay of Bengal. The system strengthened into a very severe cyclonic storm during that period, leading to earlier-than-expected landfall timing.

Preparatory measures included the setup of over 2,000 cyclone shelters across 20 districts. Authorities also secured more than 30,000 fishing boats along the shore and deployed nearly 1,100 medical teams to affected areas. Emergency alerts were sent to the mobile phones of millions of residents to ensure rapid dissemination of safety information. Some train services were canceled due to gusty winds and heavy rain that reached the coast before the main storm arrived.

The disaster management authority indicated that more than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s expected path. As the storm moved inland, wind speeds were projected to ease to around 110 kph later in the day. In neighboring Odisha, officials planned to evacuate about 48,000 people from areas likely to be impacted by the residual effects of the storm.

The event occurred in a region where over 12 million residents inhabit the coastal strip vulnerable to such systems. The state’s response relied on pre-positioned shelters and digital alert systems to manage the population movement. The cyclone's trajectory and intensity were monitored closely by the IMD, which provided hourly updates on wind speed and rainfall accumulation.