Cyclone Arnab: Where will the storm make landfall? IMD predicts date, districts at risk

The India Meteorological Department IMD has warned that a depression over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm and make landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28 The forecast has prompted the Odisha government to cancel the leaves of disaster management personnel and mobilise 225 rescue teams across vulnerable regionsManorama Mohanty Director of the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar said that although the cyclone is expected to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh Odisha is likely to experience heavy rainfall strong winds and extremely heavy downpours particularly in the southern districts Heavy Rainfall Warning Cyclonic Storm Alert Under the influence of the impending Very Severe Cyclonic Storm over the Westcentral Bay of Bengal extremely heavy rainfall is likely over Coastal Andhra Pradesh on 27thndash28th October Odisha and Telangana on 28th October and Chhattisgarh on 28thndash29th October 2026 Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely over Odisha on 27th amp 29th October and East Madhya Pradesh on 29th October 2026 Stay alert and follow official weather updates and advisories issued by IMD CycloneAlert WeatherWarning HeavyRainfall IMD moesgoi airnewsalerts DDNational ndmaindia ICRER_MHAmdash India Meteorological Department Indiametdept October 25 2026Where is Cyclone Arnab likely to make landfallAccording to the IMD forecast the cyclone is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam by the forenoon of October 28 as a very severe cyclonic stormThe IMD expects wind speeds of 115 to 125 kmph during landfall with gusts reaching 140 kmphAs of now the depression lies over eastcentral adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal and it is very likely to intensify further into a deep depression by today 25th October It is also likely to intensify further and become a cyclonic storm by the morning of 26th October and into a severe cyclonic storm on 27th October Thereafter it is very likely to move northwestward intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm and reach westcentral Bay of Bengal near the Andhra Pradesh coast around the morning of 28th October Mohanty told ANIIt is very likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam as a very severe cyclonic storm by the forenoon of 28th October While crossing the coast the wind speed will be around 115 to 125 kmh gusting to 140 kmh Because of this Odisha is likely to be impacted by rainfall activity and wind speed as well However the rainfall impact will be more significant she addedOdisha issues red alert for five districtsThe IMD has sounded a red alert for October 28 in five southern Odisha districts Ganjam Gajapati Rayagada Koraput and Malkangiri These areas are likely to receive isolated extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by winds of 50 to 60 kmph gusting up to 70 kmphMohanty said the system is expected to move close to Malkangiri district after landfall but remain within Andhra PradeshAfter landfall it is likely to move close to Malkangiri district but it will remain in Andhra Pradesh Because of this we are expecting extremely heavy rainfall Landslides may also occur because we are expecting very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall especially in the hilly areas she addedHeavy to very heavy rainfall has also been forecast for Kalahandi Kandhamal Nabarangpur Balangir Puri Khordha Nayagarh Bargarh and Nuapada on October 28 Widespread rainfall activity is expected to continue on October 29 before receding substantially from October 30IMD warns fishermen against venturing into the seaThe IMD has issued maritime warnings with Distant Cautionary Signal No 1 hoisted at all ports across Odisha Sea conditions are expected to remain rough to very rough along the Odisha coast with wind speeds of 40 to 50 kmph and gusts up to 60 kmphFishermen have been strictly advised not to venture into the sea until October 29The IMD had issued a Cyclone Alert Orange Message for Andhra Pradesh and the adjoining south Odisha coasts on Saturday At 1130 am on October 25 the system was centred approximately 870 km eastsoutheast of Visakhapatnam 960 km eastsoutheast of Kakinada and 1130 km east of BapatlaOdisha mobilises 225 rescue teamsThe Odisha government has stepped up preparations to deal with the anticipated impact of the cyclone deploying specialised personnel and cancelling staff leaves across the stateOdisha Chief Fire Officer Ramesh Majhi said the authorities had proposed deploying 225 teams across vulnerable regions ensuring coverage at the blockheadquarters level The teams are equipped with 225 vehicles including towing and transport vehicles to facilitate the movement of personnelVIDEO Bhubaneswar On Cyclone Arnab Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari says The Depression created on 23rd of October near the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal has started moving towards the north and the northwest And its likely to landfall somewhere in between Visakhapatnam and Bapatla of Andhra Pradesh When it will touch the land in the coastline of Andhra Pradesh I think the severity of the cyclone will be there in the state of Andhra Pradesh and lesser impact likely to be on the other side of Andhra Pradesh that is Odisha But in spite of the initial prediction we are waiting for the final prediction of IMD The final prediction of IMD is likely to come late in the evening today or early in the morning tomorrow But we have made adequate preparation notwithstanding the exact location of the landfall of the cyclonic storm Arnab we have made adequate arrangements in all the 30 districts Full video available on PTI Videos httpstcobIyFWTfmBdmdash Press Trust of India PTI_News October 25 2026In the event of a severe storm we have 1510 highpower chainsaws ready for use25 rescue tenders have been provided for critical situations12 plasma cutters have been supplied Furthermore 225 tower lights have been distributed among the teams to facilitate operations during the evening or night Majhi saidHe added that leave for all personnel across the state had been cancelled and confirmed that teams were on high alert under direct government supervision to respond swiftly to any untoward incidentAccording to the IMDs forecast the system is expected to move nearly southwestwards and intensify into a cyclonic storm over the eastcentral and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal by the early morning of October 26 It is then expected to move westnorthwestwards strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm over the westcentral Bay of Bengal by the morning of October 27 and become a very severe cyclonic storm by the morning of October 28 before making landfallWith ANI and PTI inputs