Bhubaneswar, October 27: The very severe cyclonic storm Arnab will make landfall earlier than expected, between 2 AM and 4 PM on October 28, said the latest IMD bulletin on Tuesday.

The storm is moving at a speed of 18 kmph during the past six hours and lay centered at 1730 hrs IST of today, over Westcentral Bay of Bengal off Andhra Pradesh coast, about 90 km southeast of Kakinada, 170 km south-southwest of Vishakhapatnam, 170 km east-northeast of Machilipatnam, 240 km east-northeast of Bapatla and 410 km southwest of Gopalpur.

Also Read: IMD issues yellow warning for twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack

The storm is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yaman coasts between 2 AM and 4 AM on October 28, packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph, with gusts reaching up to 150 kmph.

“It is very likely to continue to move nearly west-northwestwards during next few hours, then northwestwards and cross Andhra Pradesh & Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to south of Yanam as a very severe cyclonic storm with the maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph during early hours of 28th October, 2026,” it stated.

Cyclone Arnab: Odisha Water Resources dept reviews dam status, flood preparedness

“Very severe cyclonic storm “Arnab” is interacting with the land surface and the outer spiral band has entered into the land. Due to faster movement, the landfall of cyclone is expected early. It is likely to make landfall during early hours (2-4 AM) of 28th October,” it added.

Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have stepped up precautionary measures as Cyclone Arnab approaches the eastern coast. The eastern coastal states shut schools, prohibited sea fishing, kept rescue teams on standby and stepped up security measures.

Also Read: Cyclone Arnab: Deputy CM Pravati Parida reviews preparedness in Rayagada; 9 NDRF teams deployed in Odisha

In Odisha, the IMD has issued an orange warning, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall of 12-20 cm, for six districts of Puri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam adn Odisha on October 28, Chhattisgarh on October 28 and 29, and East Uttar Pradesh on October 29.