Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, packing sustained winds of 125 to 150 kilometers per hour. The severe storm has claimed five lives, uprooted thousands of utility poles, and submerged extensive agricultural land, prompting emergency relief deployments across multiple states.
The severe cyclonic system slammed ashore in the early hours of Wednesday, driving torrential rains and gale-force winds across coastal districts before weakening into a depression moving north toward Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu confirmed that five people have died due to electrocution and structural collapses as the storm battered the region.
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Severe Infrastructure Damage and Crop Losses Across Andhra Pradesh
The storm's fury concentrated heavily on Andhra Pradesh's coastal belt, where thousands of electricity poles were uprooted and hundreds of thousands of trees flattened.
Agricultural devastation spans more than 2.24 lakh hectares of farmland across 14 districts.
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Emergency Airlifts and Relief Operations in Odisha
Across the border in Odisha, where 17 districts faced severe weather, the state government coordinated with the central administration to airlift residents trapped in roughly 300 flooded villages in Ganjam district. Swollen rivers, including the Rushikulya near Aska, pushed water levels near danger marks, while continuous rainfall hampered initial ground rescue attempts.
Anu Garg stated, We hope that the rain will subside so that rescue teams can reach the affected people.
State officials reported that teams from the National Disaster Response Force and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force are operating in waterlogged zones, while the Indian Coast Guard provided a helicopter for evacuation missions. Chief Secretary Anu Garg stated that state authorities are in contact with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to manage rescue operations across the affected tracts.
Storm Remnants Trigger Severe Weather Across Northern and Central India
Although the core system weakened into a depression centered over southern Chhattisgarh and southern Odisha, the India Meteorological Department warned that the combined influence of the storm remnants and western disturbances will trigger widespread severe weather. Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, accompanied by squally winds reaching 40 to 60 kilometers per hour, is forecasted across Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, and eastern Madhya Pradesh.
The severe cyclonic storm “Arnab” over Coastal Andhra Pradesh & Yanam and adjoining Westcentral Bay of Bengal, moved very slowly north-northwestwards with the speed of 7 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centered at 1430 hrs IST of today, the 28th October, over the same region… pic.twitter.com/OAr8wtop6W
Electric Vehicle Power Backup Emerges Amid Power Outages
Amid widespread grid failures in the Rajahmundry area, an unconventional power source drew attention when a resident utilized vehicle-to-load technology to keep household essentials running. According to social media documentation highlighted in regional reports, When there was a power cut in the Rajahmundry area due to Cyclone Arnab, the Tata Curvv EV came to the rescue.
The electric vehicle’s battery system supplied continuous power to three fans and five lights for roughly 13 hours overnight, consuming only 13 percent of its total charge.
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More on Cyclone Arnab
The very severe cyclonic storm “Arnab” over Westcentral Bay of Bengal off Andhra Pradesh coast moved slowly northwestwards, crossed Andhra Pradesh & Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam to the Southwest of Yanam near latitude 16.450N and 81.90E, about 20 km… pic.twitter.com/eAh0V6oCOu