Cyclone Arnab slammed into India’s eastern coast Wednesday with winds gusting to 150 kilometers per hour, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines and forcing more than 180,000 people into safer areas across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Yet despite the storm’s strength, authorities had reported no deaths as of Wednesday morning—a striking early result after one of India’s largest recent preventive evacuations. Officials cautioned that damage assessments were only beginning and that dangerous rain, flooding and wind would continue even as Arnab weakened inland.
Arnab crossed the coast as a powerful cyclone
The India Meteorological Department said Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast early October 28 near Narsapur and southwest of Yanam. At landfall, sustained winds reached 125 to 135 kph—about 78 to 84 mph—with gusts as high as 150 kph, or 93 mph.
The storm had earlier stalled just offshore, prolonging damaging wind and rain along the coast. It then completed landfall and began moving north-northwest, with forecasters expecting it to weaken first into a cyclonic storm and later into a deep depression.
Weakening does not mean the threat is over. The IMD maintained warnings for extremely heavy rain and strong surface winds across coastal Andhra Pradesh, with additional heavy rain and thunderstorms possible over the following days. Flooded roads, damaged power networks and unstable trees can remain dangerous long after a cyclone’s center moves inland.
More than 180,000 people moved to safety
Reuters reported that authorities evacuated more than 180,000 people across Andhra Pradesh and neighboring Odisha before and during landfall. Three airports in Andhra Pradesh suspended operations, while schools closed and numerous train and flight services were canceled.
India’s public broadcaster Akashvani News said more than 100 train services were canceled or rescheduled. Disaster authorities deployed 16 National Disaster Response Force teams and 11 state teams across 14 districts, while Andhra Pradesh’s government asked for central teams to begin assessing damage to homes, roads, crops and electricity infrastructure.
The Associated Press reported that officials opened more than 2,000 cyclone shelters across 20 districts, secured over 30,000 fishing boats and deployed nearly 1,100 medical teams. More than 12 million people live along the storm’s projected path in Andhra Pradesh alone.
Damage is widespread, but no deaths reported
Early reports described trees and utility poles across highways, damaged homes, crop losses and widespread power disruptions. Residents in affected districts told reporters that floodwater entered neighborhoods and destroyed belongings.
Officials in both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha said no loss of life had been reported by Wednesday morning. That figure could change as responders reach isolated communities, but it offers an early indication that mass evacuations, mobile alerts and coastal preparations may have prevented a far worse outcome.
India has invested heavily in cyclone forecasting and evacuation systems since a 1999 super cyclone killed nearly 10,000 people in Odisha. Forecast warnings, designated shelters and advance movement of vulnerable residents have sharply reduced deaths from several later storms, even when property damage remained severe.
The storm’s reach extends into the Himalayas
Arnab’s effects are not confined to India’s coastline. Nepal temporarily suspended new trekking permits for high-altitude areas because the storm’s moisture could trigger torrential rain, heavy snow and avalanches in the Himalayas later this week. October is normally one of Nepal’s busiest trekking periods.
Along the Bay of Bengal, authorities continued warning fishermen to remain ashore and residents to avoid floodwater, damaged electrical lines and unnecessary travel. Relief crews are now shifting from evacuation to debris removal, power restoration and damage assessment.
What happens next
The next phase will determine whether Arnab’s most serious consequences come from coastal wind damage or inland flooding. Saturated ground, swollen rivers and continued rain can deepen losses after the storm itself has weakened.
For now, the headline is both alarming and cautiously hopeful: a powerful cyclone displaced more than 180,000 people and battered India’s east coast, but advance warnings and mass evacuations appear to have protected lives during the most dangerous hours.
Sources
- India Meteorological Department cyclone bulletins
- Reuters: India evacuates more than 180,000
- Associated Press: Arnab crosses Andhra Pradesh
- Akashvani News: landfall and response update
