Bhubaneswar: Very Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Arnab’ is currently crossing the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) stating that the landfall process will be completed within the next one hour.
According to IMD bulletin issued at 7:30 am, the centre of the system lay over the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts near Latitude 16.4°N and Longitude 81.9°E as of 06:30 am. The rear portion of the wall cloud region is expected to enter the coastal area in the next one hour, completing the landfall process.
The storm is packing winds of 115-125 kmph, gusting up to 140 kmph near the centre. Similar wind speeds are expected over the landfall area during the next two hours, after which they will gradually decrease. The system is likely to move slowly northwestwards initially and then north-northwestwards. A storm surge of 1.0 to 1.5 metres above the astronomical tide is very likely to inundate low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh during the next three hours.
Significant rainfall has already been recorded in several coastal stations, including Visakhapatnam-Waltair (217 mm), Kalingapatnam (147 mm), Tuni (123 mm), Kakinada (118 mm), Machilipatnam-Franchpet (115 mm), Gopalpur (94 mm) and Puri (72 mm).
Strong winds of 115-125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph, continue to prevail along and off the coasts of West Godavari (Konaseema), Kakinada districts and Yanam (Puducherry UT).
The IMD has advised residents in the affected coastal regions to remain indoors, stay away from low-lying and inundation-prone areas, and follow all official safety instructions until the storm weakens further.
