Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast near Yanam and Narasapuram in the early hours of 28 October 2026 and then weakened into a severe cyclonic storm, bringing heavy rain to coastal Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha.
WHAT HAPPENED
Cyclone Arnab, which formed over the Bay of Bengal on 24 October 2026, crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast as a very severe cyclonic storm in the early hours of 28 October, after a landfall process lasting more than six hours. By 8:30 am it had weakened into a severe cyclonic storm.
KEY FACTS
- Landfall: between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, southwest of Yanam, near Narasapuram.
- Intensity: IMD had forecast sustained winds of 115-125 km/h gusting to 140 km/h; IMD classed it a very severe cyclonic storm at peak.
- Name: given by Bangladesh; "Arnab" means "ocean" in Bengali.
- Odisha issued a red alert for five southern districts for 28 October and set a zero-casualty goal.
- Heavy rain hit coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha; damage and casualty figures were still being compiled at the time of writing.
EXAM ANGLE
North Indian Ocean cyclone names come from a list contributed by 13 WMO/ESCAP Panel member countries and are used in sequence. Know the IMD scale: a very severe cyclonic storm has sustained winds of 118-165 km/h (64-89 knots). Yanam is a district of the Union Territory of Puducherry, surrounded by Andhra Pradesh.
SOURCE AND DATE
ANI (26 October), TBS News and The Daily Pioneer (28 October), and IMD forecasts as reported. Added to this collection on 28 October 2026.