Cyclone Arnab becomes cyclonic storm, landfall between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam
Cyclone Arnab has intensified into a cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make landfall between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam by the forenoon of October 28.
Manorama Mohanty, Director of the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, told ANI that wind speed at the time of crossing would be around 115 to 125km/h, gusting up to 140km/h, so things might get rough.
Schools in Andaman and Nicobar are closed on October 26 and 27 as a safety step.
Coastal Odisha under red alert
Coastal Odisha is also in for some wild weather, with heavy rainfall warnings and a red alert out for Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, and Malkangiri districts.
Rain is likely to continue into October 29 before receding substantially from October 30.
The state has already deployed 225 rescue teams just in case, while fishermen are being told to stay ashore and ports are on high alert.