Cyclone Arnab lingers near Andhra Pradesh coast as heavy rains and flight cancellations hit the region

UPDATE - follow-up to Cyclone Arnab landfall continues along Andhra Pradesh coast | LIVE: Severe cyclonic storm Arnab stayed almost stationary over the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast, while its long landfall process continued for several hours after starting near Narsapur town at 1.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Impact and Travel Disruptions

Strong sea waves battered coastal roads in north Chennai and Tiruvallur districts in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Airlines grounded at least 21 flights across Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, with the Vijayawada airport shutting down all flight operations for Wednesday. Southern Odisha also stayed on alert as the weather system edged closer.

Rainfall Figures

North coastal Andhra Pradesh took the heaviest hit of downpours as the storm moved. Kannuripalem in Anakapalli district recorded the state's highest total at 263 mm over a 24-hour period, while Bhogapuram reached 263 mm and the local police facility in Visakhapatnam logged 260 mm. Within Visakhapatnam city limits, Simhachalam saw 238 mm, Waltair recorded 217 mm, Madhurawada noted 207 mm, and RK Beach registered 111 mm. Across Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, and Vizianagaram districts, thirty-nine weather stations crossed the 204.5 mm threshold for extremely heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, Rayalaseema and southern districts stayed mostly dry with less than 7.5 mm of rain.

Official Response

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu held a morning review meeting to assess the unfolding crisis, following an earlier assessment by the Civil Aviation Ministry to secure flight safety. Police forces stepped in to rescue stranded residents across affected pockets while authorities opened cyclone shelters and pushed forward with mass evacuations in danger zones.

Context

Slow-moving tropical cyclones often dump massive amounts of rainfall over a prolonged period because they linger longer over the same geographic area. The India Meteorological Department tracks these systems using radar networks and automatic weather stations to guide local disaster management and evacuation efforts.