Cyclone ‘Arnab’ LIVE updates | Three killed in Andhra after landfall near Narsapur; storm weakens

Crops on over 80,000 hectares are damaged, Chief Minister Naidu tells Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Updated - October 28, 2026 05:27 pm IST

A delivery rider ducks under the branches of a tree that fell on a car at KRM Colony in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Cyclone Arnab has uprooted hundreds of trees across the city since Tuesday. | Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

Cyclone Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur early on Wednesday (October 28, 2026). It has since weakened from a very severe to a severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The landfall was complete by 8.30 a.m.

Watch: What Andhra Pradesh needs to know

At least three people have died in cyclone-related incidents in the State, officials said. A man was killed by a falling tree in Bhimavaram. Two others were electrocuted in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts. About 57,000 people have been moved to relief camps, according to the NDRF.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking a Central team to assess the damage. Paddy on about 70,900 hectares and horticulture crops on 10,450 hectares are under water or damaged, and about 180 houses have been hit, the letter says. Thirty-eight flights have been cancelled at the Visakhapatnam airport.

The IMD’s Cyclone Warning Centre has warned of a moderate to high risk of flash floods in 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh till 5.30 a.m. on Thursday. The districts include Bapatla, Guntur, NTR, Krishna, Eluru, East and West Godavari, Kakinada, ASR, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Anakapalli and Parvathipuram Manyam.

Garividi in Vizianagaram district recorded 26 cm of rain in the 24 hours to 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday, the highest among the IMD’s stations. The strongest sustained wind was 96 kmph at Machilipatnam; Visakhapatnam and Kakinada recorded 80 kmph each.

Heavy rain is likely at isolated places on Thursday. The IMD also expects heavy rain at a few places on November 1, 2 and 3, the first of which is polling day for the civic elections.

About 80% of the power and water supply in Visakhapatnam district has been restored, Collector Abhishikth Kishore said on Wednesday. He expects the work to be complete by evening. Around 150 teams are clearing fallen trees and putting up damaged poles across the city. All roads in the district are open to traffic, including the national highways.

Rain is still forecast, and weakened poles and trees could fall on vehicles or people, the Collector said. He asked people to stay alert for the next 24 to 36 hours and not to go out unless it is an emergency.

Strong winds uprooted trees and brought down power poles around Machilipatnam, Minister for Mines and Geology Kollu Ravindra told PTI on Wednesday. Machilipatnam received more than 112 mm of rain, and the full-moon high tide slowed the flow of rainwater into the sea, leaving several areas waterlogged.

Most major roads have been cleared, he said. Officials expect power to be restored in most affected areas by Wednesday evening and all major roads to be cleared by Thursday morning.

Rain has set in over West Midnapore in West Bengal. Midnapore town recorded about 5 cm in the 24 hours to 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the IMD’s regional centre in Kolkata. Heavy rain of 7 to 11 cm is likely at one or two places in South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Jhargram districts till Thursday morning.

Bankura, Purulia and West Burdwan could also get heavy rain on Thursday. In north Bengal, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri are likely to be hit on Thursday and Friday.

The weakening storm is expected to move north-west and reach Malkangiri in Odisha by Wednesday evening or night, Manorama Mohanty, Director of the IMD in Bhubaneswar, said on Wednesday. Winds of 60 to 70 kmph, gusting to 80 kmph, are likely in Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi districts.

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan reviewed relief work with the Collectors of districts from Bapatla to Srikakulam on Wednesday afternoon. Officials told him 93 roads had been damaged in East Godavari district alone, where about 736 trees were uprooted. In Kakinada district, 92 habitations were affected and 9,870 people are in relief camps. Falling poles and snapped wires have cut power across much of the affected districts, officials said.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan asked for the damaged beach road at Uppada to be assessed. He told officials to send people home from relief camps only after the winds die down and the rain eases. People should stay alert for another two days, he said in an X post.