Cyclone Arnab made landfall between Narsapur and Yanam on Wednesday morning, bringing heavy destruction to Andhra Pradesh and triggering severe weather alerts across Telangana, Odisha, and Jharkhand. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that the storm crossed the coast between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., with wind speeds reaching 125 to 135 km/h, occasionally gusting up to 150 km/h.
The cyclone claimed three lives in Andhra Pradesh. In Bhimavaram, West Godavari district, 46-year-old Kishore Kumar died after being struck by a falling tree. Two others, one each in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts, were killed by electrocution. According to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), approximately 57,000 people have been relocated to relief camps as a precautionary measure.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, detailing the extensive agricultural damage. The storm submerged approximately 70,900 hectares of paddy fields and 10,450 hectares of horticultural crops, while damaging 180 homes. The Chief Minister has requested the deployment of a central team to assess the extent of the losses.
In Telangana, the Hyderabad Meteorological Centre has issued an orange alert for the districts of Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Nalgonda, and Suryapet, warning of potential heavy rainfall. Several districts have already recorded between 2 mm and 10 mm of rain since the storm began its inland movement.
Odisha has also faced significant impact, with Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari confirming that over 30,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying and landslide-prone areas. The state recorded heavy rainfall, with Mahendragarh in Gajapati district receiving 250 mm and Pottangi in Koraput district recording 188 mm over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, authorities in Jharkhand have ordered the closure of schools in Ranchi, West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, and Simdega districts for today and tomorrow as the state braces for the lingering effects of the cyclone.
