Cyclone Arnab Forms in the Bay of Bengal and Heads for Andhra Pradesh Landfall on October 28

Update: Sri Lanka closes schools, more than 4,700 pregnant women moved to hospitals

Updated 10:30 UTC, Oct. 27, 2026. Neighbouring Sri Lanka has closed schools as Arnab approaches, AFP reported on Tuesday, citing the island's Department of Meteorology, which warned that storms could trigger flash floods and mudslides. Sri Lanka's military has been placed on alert, the country's Disaster Management Centre said. In Andhra Pradesh, local media reported that authorities had closed all educational institutions in some districts from Tuesday until Saturday, and that more than 4,700 pregnant women living in potentially dangerous areas had been relocated to hospitals, the Indian Express reported. The India Meteorological Department warned the cyclone could cause total destruction of thatched houses, localised flooding, uprooted power and communication poles, and widespread damage to standing crops. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu ordered officials to ensure the storm is constantly monitored and advance precautions taken, his office said in a statement on Monday.

Update: Arnab is now a very severe cyclonic storm, nearly 50,000 people evacuated

Updated 05:52 UTC, Oct. 27, 2026. Arnab has intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal, moving west northwestward at 25 kilometres per hour and centred over the west central Bay of Bengal at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Indian reporting citing the India Meteorological Department said. Reuters reported on Tuesday that nearly 50,000 people had been moved to shelters from vulnerable areas by Monday night, out of 400,000 estimated to need evacuation, Prakhar Jain, Managing Director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters. "Evacuation is continuing," Jain added. There have been no evacuations in Odisha so far, Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha, told Reuters. Rail services on 53 routes along the southern coast were suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday, and at least 12 trains were cancelled in the east. In neighbouring Nepal, authorities cautioned tourists against venturing into high altitude areas, fearing Cyclone Arnab could trigger torrential downpours, snowstorms and avalanches in the Himalayan region from Thursday night through Saturday. Nepal is still recovering from a deadly flash flood in August, which killed about 1,500 people.

Update: Arnab is now a severe cyclonic storm

Updated 04:56 UTC, Oct. 27, 2026. Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab is moving across the west central Bay of Bengal at 25 kilometres per hour, the speed it has held over the past six hours, and a large disaster response effort is under way across coastal Andhra Pradesh, ANI reported on Tuesday morning, citing the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA). The storm was centred on Tuesday morning about 300 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, 360 kilometres from Kakinada, 460 kilometres from Machilipatnam and 530 kilometres from Bapatla. APSDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain said the cyclone will maintain its west-northwestward track until Tuesday evening before veering northwestward toward the coastline.

Arnab is projected to make landfall near Yanam, between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, by Wednesday morning, and the IMD warned it is very likely to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm at landfall, with sustained winds of 115 to 125 kilometres per hour and gusts to 140 kilometres per hour. Preliminary assessments indicate that 16 districts, encompassing 2,460 revenue villages and 92 urban areas, fall directly in the cyclone path. An orange alert is in force in Visakhapatnam. India's Cabinet Secretary, Dr. T. V. Somanathan, chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee on Monday, October 26, to review preparedness, the Cabinet Secretariat said, with the National Disaster Response Force, state forces, the armed forces and the Indian Coast Guard prepared for rescue and relief operations.

Updated 06:30 UTC, October 26

Andhra Pradesh and Odisha stepped up preparations on Monday as Cyclone Arnab moved toward the coast. A senior Andhra Pradesh disaster management official told Reuters that the state government had identified 570,000 people as vulnerable and that evacuations would start on Monday evening. Andhra Pradesh has called boats at sea to return ashore and ordered speedy restoration of power in case of disruptions, Reuters reported.

Odisha announced the closure of schools and colleges in five districts for Tuesday and Wednesday and said it was preparing to move residents of low lying areas to cyclone shelters, Reuters reported. In Odisha, around 20 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force teams have been deployed under a three phase plan for 60 teams, The Daily Jagran reported, quoting Odisha Additional Director General Sanjay Kumar telling ANI: "The positive aspect is that Odisha is fully prepared." Jagran also reported that Andhra Pradesh power utilities were on high alert, that 25,000 electric poles and other essential materials had been stocked, and that advance release of water from Hirakud had been ensured.

Cyclonic Storm Arnab formed over the Bay of Bengal on Monday, October 26, 2026, and is moving toward the Andhra Pradesh coast. The system strengthened from a deep depression into a cyclonic storm on Monday and was moving westward at around 15 kilometres per hour, ChennaiOnline reported.

Reports quoting the India Meteorological Department confirm that stage. This article uses that confirmed stage and the reported Monday position below.

Where the storm was on Monday

The reported position on Monday put Arnab about 590 kilometres northwest of Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was about 650 kilometres east southeast of Visakhapatnam, 730 kilometres east southeast of Kakinada, 830 kilometres east of Machilipatnam and 910 kilometres east of Bapatla.

The name Arnab was proposed by Bangladesh under the regional naming arrangement for tropical cyclones over the northern Indian Ocean. A name from that list is given once a system reaches cyclonic storm intensity, which is the stage this system reached on Monday.

The landfall forecast for October 28

The India Meteorological Department forecast says the system intensified into a deep depression on Sunday over the east central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal, strengthened into a cyclonic storm on Monday, and will move toward the Andhra Pradesh coast. It may cross between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam by the forenoon of October 28.

Forecasters also say the storm may strengthen into a very severe cyclonic storm before landfall. Landfall wind speeds are put at 115 to 125 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 140 kilometres per hour, in The Daily Jagran storm summary. ChennaiOnline puts the possible very severe cyclonic storm wind speeds at up to 125 kilometres per hour.

Orbit Post reported the same system on October 24, when meteorologists warned that a cyclonic storm developing in the bay could bring heavy rain to Nepal. That report was a Nepal rain warning. This report covers the India side now that the storm has formed and been named.

Andhra Pradesh and Odisha prepare

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu instructed government officials to remain alert and take the necessary precautionary measures. The focus, ChennaiOnline reported, is on protecting people and reducing the risk of loss of life.

In Odisha, schools will close on October 28 and 29 in five districts under a red warning: Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam. Fishermen were told not to venture into the sea, and those already out at sea were asked to return.

Rain across Tamil Nadu

The department forecast heavy rain at isolated places in the Tamil Nadu districts of Pudukkottai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram, with thunderstorms, lightning and winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour. Similar conditions were forecast for Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Karur and Tiruchirappalli, with heavy showers at one or two places in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam in the Cauvery delta.

Chennai ports hoisted warning signals on Monday, October 26. Schools were closed in several Tamil Nadu districts on October 26 as the state continued to receive significant rainfall, with India Meteorological Department alerts in place for the next three days.