Cyclone Arnab heads for Andhra Pradesh: 570,000 people at risk, landfall expected Wednesday

Cyclone Arnab, which formed over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to make landfall on the coast of Andhra Pradesh by Wednesday morning (28 October), with gusts of up to 140 kph and a chance of further strengthening, India's weather office said, according to Reuters as published by Business Recorder.

Who is in its path

• Andhra Pradesh: a senior disaster management official told Reuters that 570,000 people had been identified as vulnerable, and evacuations were to begin on Monday evening. Fishing boats have been called back to shore, and officials have been told to restore power quickly wherever lines come down.
• Odisha: schools and colleges in five districts will close on Tuesday and Wednesday, and residents of low-lying areas are being moved to cyclone shelters.

The weather office expects heavy to extremely heavy rain in the northern and central coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and the southern districts of Odisha.

Will it affect Pakistan?

No. Arnab is on India's east coast, about 2,000 km from Karachi, and Bay of Bengal storms do not reach Pakistan's coast, which is threatened only by systems in the Arabian Sea. Watch the Pakistan Meteorological Department for any local weather alerts.

Why Bay of Bengal cyclones are so dangerous

The Bay of Bengal's shallow coastal shelf and low, crowded deltas push storm surges far inland, which is why India and Bangladesh now move hundreds of thousands of people before landfall. Evacuations of this kind have sharply cut the death toll from Bay of Bengal cyclones in the past two decades.

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