Severe Cyclone Arnab, which formed from a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal, made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast early on Tuesday. The storm, named “Arnab” by Bangladesh, crossed the shoreline between Visakhapatnam and Bapatla and took about six hours to complete landfall before weakening.
The cyclone brought intense rainfall across parts of Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha. As of 8.30 am, Visakhapatnam recorded 31.5 cm of rain, followed by Vizianagaram (30.5 cm), Anakapalli (27.5 cm), Srikakulam (25.7 cm) and Krishna (22.3 cm).
Flight operations were affected in Vijayawada and Vizianagaram amid the adverse weather. Authorities reported five deaths in rain-related incidents across Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, Konaseema and West Godavari districts.
In Odisha, heavy rain was reported in several places, including 18.8 cm in Koraput, 16.1 cm in Ganjam and 13.5 cm in Gajapati. No deaths were reported there, but power supply was disrupted, fallen trees caused traffic problems, and schools were closed.
Officials have warned that rainfall is likely to continue for the next few days in the affected regions.
