Kathmandu, Oct 28: Cyclone Arnab began making landfall along the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Yanam in India on Tuesday night, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), wind speeds at the cyclone’s centre ranged from 125 to 135 kilometres per hour, with gusts reaching 150 kmph.
The storm moved northwest at a speed of 3 kmph over the past three hours. It is forecast to move slowly northwest before turning north-northwest.
“The landfall process will continue for the next three hours,” the IMD said in its bulletin.
The cyclone made landfall south of Yanam, between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam. The IMD said surface wind speeds in the area would remain between 125 and 135 kmph, with gusts reaching 150 kmph before gradually weakening.
The weather department issued a warning of severe flooding, forecasting storm surges of 1.5 to 2.5 metres that could inundate low lying coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh. The highest waves are expected near Kakinada and Yanam in Puducherry.
By the morning of October 28, several locations in Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts had recorded more than 200 millimetres of heavy rainfall.
The cyclone has uprooted numerous trees and snapped electricity poles in Kakinada. Heavy rain and strong winds have also blocked roads in Visakhapatnam after trees fell along Beach Road and in Seethammadhara.
The effects of Cyclone Arnab have also disrupted daily life in several parts of West Bengal, where heavy rainfall and strong winds have been reported.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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