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Cyclone Arnab has come ashore. The very severe cyclonic storm began its landfall process along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts early on Wednesday, October 28, at about 1:20 a.m., crossing between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to south of Yanam — with maximum sustained winds of 125–135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph. That is stronger than the earlier bulletin figure our wind-speeds explainer set out for landfall, because the storm held its very severe strength right up to the coast instead of weakening first. The landfall process itself takes around three to four hours, during which the centre stays very close to the shoreline.
Where the storm is, hour by hour
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), as reported by PTI, the storm was located around 30 km east of Narsapur, 45 km south-southwest of Yanam and 70 km south-southwest of Kakinada as landfall began, having moved northwestwards at just 3 kmph over the preceding three hours. It is expected to move slowly northwestwards at first, then track north-northwestwards, with surface winds over the landfall area holding at 125–135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph for the next three to four hours before gradually decreasing. The Hindu's live blog carries the same IMD position and wind figures, and notes that the northern spiral band of the cyclone has already entered the land.
Rain and surge: the two dangers after the wind
Wind is only the first hazard. The IMD has issued a major inundation alert: a storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 metres above the astronomical tide is very likely to flood low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh over the next four to five hours, with the maximum peak surge expected near Kakinada and Yanam. Rain has already been extreme in places: more than 200 mm fell across several locations in Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts between 8:30 a.m. on October 27 and 3:00 a.m. on October 28, according to IMD figures carried by multiple outlets. Heavy rain and strong winds have also reached parts of West Bengal, and coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and southern Odisha are all experiencing heavy rain as the storm moves inland. Our midday update tracked the evacuations and transport cancellations put in place before the storm arrived.
What is happening on the ground
The early damage reports follow the pattern of a storm of this strength. In Kakinada district, trees were uprooted and power lines snapped, and police rescued four people, while three others were reported stranded at warehouses in Kakinada Anchorage Port, according to the Financial Express tracker. In Visakhapatnam, gale-force winds and downpours brought down trees, blocking Beach Road and Seethammadhara. Air travel along the coast is expected to be disrupted, with flights to and from coastal Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha, including Bhubaneswar, among the most affected, and delays possible as far inland as Hyderabad, Varanasi, Prayagraj and Gorakhpur depending on the cyclone's path.
The important context is that the worst of a cyclone is not always the moment the centre crosses the coast. The surge arrives with the landfall, the heaviest rain often falls as the storm moves inland and weakens, and flooded roads and fallen power lines can be more dangerous after the wind drops, when people start moving again. The IMD's hourly bulletins, not any single headline wind figure, remain the authoritative source for the next update — and district administrations' orders, not social media posts, are the ones to follow for evacuation and return. Arnab is now a land storm, not a sea storm, and its rain footprint will reach well beyond the coast it crossed this morning.