Visakhapatnam/Bhubaneswar: Cyclone Arnab strengthened over the Bay of Bengal on Monday, and India's weather office expects it to cross the Andhra Pradesh-Yanam coast by the forenoon of October 28, with winds of 115-125 kmph gusting to 140.
At 5.30 am on Monday, the storm lay centred about 590 km north-west of Sri Vijaya Puram, 650 km east-south-east of Visakhapatnam, 730 km east-south-east of Kakinada, 830 km east of Machilipatnam and 910 km east of Bapatla, moving west-north-westwards. The India Meteorological Department expects it to become a severe cyclonic storm by midnight on Monday and a very severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday, then cross the coast close to Yanam, between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam.
"It has intensified from a deep depression into a cyclonic storm and is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam by the forenoon of October 28, bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall to coastal Andhra Pradesh," said PLN Murty, director of IMD Visakhapatnam.
A red cyclone warning has been issued for Andhra Pradesh and the adjoining south Odisha coast. Districts including Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Konaseema, Kakinada, East Godavari and West Godavari are on red alert for October 28; Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju are on orange alert.
Andhra Pradesh has identified around 5.7 lakh people as vulnerable and evacuations were to begin on Monday evening, a senior state disaster management official said. Boats at sea have been called back. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed preparedness and directed departments to coordinate closely and set up control rooms; the state's eastern power distribution company has positioned men and material and opened 30 control rooms, with attention on Konaseema, Godavari and Kakinada districts.
Odisha is taking no chances even though the landfall is forecast in the neighbouring state. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has deputed eight ministers, including the deputy chief ministers, to vulnerable districts. Sea fishing has been prohibited and tourist entry restricted at hills, waterfalls and dams in Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur. Schools and colleges will stay shut in five districts on Tuesday and Wednesday, and around 3,000 pregnant women are being moved to hospitals.
Eight NDRF teams and 40 ODRAF teams have been pre-positioned, along with fire and police personnel, and shelters are being readied. Majhi has set a zero-casualty target.
The cyclone has already changed plans along the coast. In Tamil Nadu, mechanised boat fishermen in Thoothukudi stayed ashore on Monday after the warning. The name Arnab was proposed by Bangladesh.