89,000 Moved as Cyclone Arnab Crosses Andhra Coast With 185 Kph Winds

Cyclone Arnab pushed across India's Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of Wednesday after authorities moved at least 89,000 people out of low-lying and flood-prone areas. No immediate casualty reports came in from the state.

Prakhar Jain, who heads the state's disaster management authority, said the storm weakened slightly before landfall but still carried peak winds up to 185 kph and dropped heavy to very heavy rain across several coastal districts. He said wind speeds were expected to ease to about 110 kph later Wednesday as the system moved inland.

Outer bands began striking the Andhra Pradesh coast late Tuesday as the storm intensified over the Bay of Bengal and approached landfall earlier than forecast. Authorities placed all coastal districts on high alert, canceled some train services, set up more than 2,000 shelters across 20 districts, and sent emergency alerts to the mobile phones of millions of residents. More than 30,000 fishing boats were secured along the coast, and close to 1,100 medical teams were deployed, Jain said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The state's disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the storm's expected path. In neighboring Odisha, officials planned to move about 48,000 people from areas likely to be affected.

The India Meteorological Department said heavy rain and strong winds would continue in coastal Andhra Pradesh and parts of southern Odisha for the next four hours. "The tip of the system has already entered the land mass and the entire process will take around four hours," said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, head of the IMD.