Cyclone Arnab heads towards Indian coast, landfall expected on Wednesday

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab is moving towards India's eastern coast and is expected to make landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts by Wednesday morning, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The storm is expected to bring maximum sustained winds of 115–125 kilometres per hour, with gusts reaching up to 140 kilometres per hour during landfall.

In its latest bulletin issued on Tuesday morning, the IMD said the storm had moved nearly westwards at a speed of 22 kilometres per hour over the previous six hours.

At 5:30am Indian Standard Time on 27 October, the cyclone was centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal, near latitude 15.9 degrees north and longitude 84.8 degrees east.

It was about 260 kilometres southeast of Visakhapatnam, 300 kilometres east-southeast of Kakinada, 380 kilometres south of Gopalpur in Odisha, 390 kilometres east of Machilipatnam and 460 kilometres east of Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh. The system was also around 980 kilometres west-northwest of Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman Islands.

The IMD forecast that Arnab would continue moving west-northwestwards until Tuesday evening before turning northwestwards.

The storm is very likely to cross the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, as a very severe cyclonic storm by the forenoon of Wednesday. Winds are expected to reach 115–125 kilometres per hour, with gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour during landfall.

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Cyclone Arnab closing in on Andhra coast

The IMD said the cyclone was being monitored continuously by the Doppler Weather Radar at Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has advised the maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Mongla and Payra to hoist local warning signal No. 3.

The BMD has also urged fishing boats and trawlers operating in the North Bay to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution until further notice.