Cyclone Arnab Intensifies as Andhra, Odisha Prepare for Landfall

Cyclone Arnab intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal, as authorities in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha prepared for a forecast landfall by the forenoon of October 28. The India Meteorological Department said the storm was expected to cross the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, near Yanam. The forecast had not yet been confirmed as an actual landfall. The weather agency said the cyclone had moved west-northwest at 23 kmph in the six hours before 11:30 p.m. on October 26. At that time, its centre was over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 400 kilometres south-southeast of Gopalpur and 350 kilometres southeast of Visakhapatnam. The agency forecast that the system would continue west-northwest before turning northwest, and predicted maximum sustained winds of 115 to 125 kmph at landfall, with gusts up to 140 kmph. In Odisha’s Gajapati district, officials identified 15,000 vulnerable people for possible evacuation and prepared 281 cyclone and temporary shelters, according to district Collector Akshay Sunil Agrawal. He said the facilities had provisions for food, sleeping arrangements, sanitation and drinking water. The administration...