New Delhi, October 28: More than 55,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying and coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh ahead of Cyclone Arnab, while three deaths have been reported so far, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) DIG (Operations) SS Soodan said on Wednesday.

Providing an update on the cyclone situation and ongoing rescue operations, Soodan said 39 NDRF teams had been deployed across the affected areas, including four teams that were airlifted on Tuesday to strengthen disaster response efforts.

Speaking to ANI, Soodan said the cyclone made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast, south of Yanam. He added that evacuations were carried out on Tuesday in coordination with the state government, with more than 55,000 people moved to safer locations from vulnerable coastal and low-lying areas.

According to Soodan, the cyclone has weakened after making landfall at around 8:30 am on Wednesday, transitioning from a very severe cyclonic storm to a severe cyclonic storm. The system is expected to weaken further over the next few hours before developing into a deep depression.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the very severe cyclonic storm Arnab completed its landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam and southwest of Yanam, by 8 am on Wednesday.

The storm crossed the coast between 2 am and 8 am on October 28, with its centre moving completely over land by 8 am. At the time of landfall, the system packed maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph, with gusts reaching up to 150 kmph, the IMD said in a post on X.

In its 8:30 am update, the weather agency located the system over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and the adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal. It was approximately 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, 40 km southwest of Yanam, 60 km southwest of Kakinada, 90 km east-northeast of Machilipatnam, 120 km east of Gannavaram and 120 km southwest of Tuni.

The Andhra Pradesh government has placed the state administration on high alert, with officials working round the clock to protect lives and minimise damage to property, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, high-intensity sea waves and severe coastal erosion triggered by the cyclone damaged the Uppada coastal road near Kakinada. Repair and restoration work has begun to restore connectivity and protect the vulnerable coastline.

Authorities continue to monitor the situation as the cyclone weakens, with disaster response teams deployed to assist affected communities and assess the extent of the damage.