Cyclone Arnab makes landfall near Yanam, Kakinada; nearly 1 lakh evacuated

Cyclone Arnab, a very severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal, began making landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast near Yanam, close to the port city of Kakinada, in the early hours of Wednesday, October 28, 2026, according to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD put maximum sustained winds at 125 to 135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph. Ahead of landfall, about 50,000 people in Andhra Pradesh and 48,000 in Odisha were told to move to safe places. Officials expected the landfall process to be completed by about 4 am, with heavy rain and strong winds continuing afterwards.

A very severe cyclonic storm is strong enough to flatten weak houses, bring down trees and power lines, and push seawater inland through storm surge, as the IMD's own warnings set out. The districts around Kakinada and Konaseema are farming areas where paddy was still standing in the fields, which is why both states told farmers to harvest mature crops and secure grain before the storm. Fishing families and people in thatched houses near the shore are the most exposed.

The scale of the evacuations shows how disaster response along India's east coast now works. States move people to cyclone shelters and relief camps before the storm arrives, using IMD forecasts issued days in advance. The aim is to keep deaths as low as possible, even if property and crops cannot be protected. The Centre's crisis management committee had already put national disaster response forces on standby, and Odisha deployed fire teams across the districts under alert.

Rain and strong winds were expected to continue even after the landfall process ended, according to the IMD, so the danger does not pass when the centre of the storm moves inland. Fallen power lines, flooded roads and weakened buildings remain risks for people who return home too early.

For the wider region, the storm is expected to bring heavy rain inland as it weakens. That can cause flooding in low-lying areas and rivers well away from the coast over the next day or two.

Short-term: Power and telecom outages, blocked roads, flight cancellations and damage to houses and crops are likely in the landfall area. Relief camps will stay open while damage is assessed. Casualty and damage figures had not been released at the time of writing.

Long-term: Crop losses in the Godavari delta could hit farm incomes and paddy supplies, and the states are likely to seek central assistance for relief and rebuilding once assessments are done.

Who is affected: Residents of coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and southern Odisha, especially fishing communities and people in thatched or weak houses; farmers with standing crops; air and rail travellers; and the state and central disaster response agencies.

Questions and Answers