A cyclonic system over the Bay of Bengal, named Cyclone Arnab, is expected to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm and cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam by the forenoon of 28 October 2026, according to bulletins issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on 24 and 25 October. The system is forecast to bring sustained winds of 115 to 125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph, at the time of landfall.
The forecast has set off a full-scale preparedness drive in both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, even though the landfall itself is still days away. Officials in both states have stressed that early action, from school closures to evacuations, is aimed at ensuring that no life is lost when the storm makes landfall.
In Odisha, the state government has ordered the closure of schools, colleges and Anganwadi centres on 28 and 29 October in five southern districts: Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri. A red alert has been issued for those districts for 28 October, with forecasts of heavy to very heavy rain, isolated extremely heavy rainfall of more than 20 cm, and gusty winds of 60 to 70 kmph in the state.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has set a zero-casualty objective for the state and cancelled the leave of district officials, signalling that the entire administrative machinery is to remain on duty through the storm. Officials said 24 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and six teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been positioned in the five districts.
As many as 100 shelters have been prepared in Ganjam district alone, and 1,000 temporary locations have been identified across the affected region. Eight ministers, including two deputy chief ministers, have been deployed to eight districts to oversee preparations on the ground.
In Andhra Pradesh, where the storm is expected to make landfall, the government has begun evacuating people from likely affected areas to shelters, with the process to be completed on or before 27 October. The districts in focus include Bapatla, Krishna, West Godavari, Konaseema, Kakinada, Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram, a long coastal stretch that will bear the brunt of wind, rain and possible storm surge.
Fishermen in Andhra Pradesh have been advised not to venture into the sea on 27 and 28 October, and the state has sought three additional NDRF battalions from the Centre to strengthen its response capacity. The emphasis, officials said, is on moving people out of low-lying and vulnerable areas well before conditions deteriorate, when evacuation becomes dangerous or impossible.
The contrasting wind forecasts illustrate how a single storm can threaten different regions in different ways. While the landfall zone in Andhra Pradesh faces the prospect of winds gusting to 140 kmph, Odisha, on the storm’s flank, is preparing for heavy rain and gusty winds that could still uproot trees, damage houses and disrupt power and transport. Extremely heavy rainfall remains a particular concern, since flooding often claims more lives than wind in Indian cyclones.
Residents of the affected districts have been urged to follow official advisories, keep essential supplies ready, and move to shelters when asked to do so. With the storm still over the sea and its exact track subject to refinement in the coming bulletins, officials have cautioned against both complacency and panic, asking people to rely on IMD updates rather than rumours.
As Cyclone Arnab approaches the coast, the next 48 hours will be critical, with evacuations and shelter readiness designed to buy time and safety before the storm arrives.
