The Centre has reviewed preparedness for the impending cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, as Cyclone Arnab moves toward the coast with the potential to become a very severe cyclonic storm. Cabinet Secretary Dr T. V. Somanathan chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee to assess readiness across the states in the storm’s path.
The India Meteorological Department briefed the committee that the deep depression over the east-central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal had intensified into cyclonic storm Arnab. The storm lay centred over the east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal, several hundred kilometres from the Andhra Pradesh coast.
Forecast track and wind speeds
The storm is forecast to move west-northwestwards and then northwestwards towards the Andhra Pradesh coast. It is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 115 to 125 kilometres per hour, gusting to 140 kilometres per hour, by the forenoon of 28 October. Thereafter it is likely to affect districts in Telangana, southern Odisha, south and central Chhattisgarh, apart from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Such wind speeds can uproot trees, damage power lines and houses, and disrupt road and rail movement, while coastal areas face heavy rain, storm surge and flooding in low-lying pockets.
States report shelters and teams on standby
Chief secretaries and senior officials of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry briefed the committee on preparatory measures being undertaken by their governments. Adequate shelters and evacuation arrangements have been made, and necessary teams of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been kept on standby. District control rooms have been activated and are monitoring the situation.
The committee’s review is designed to ensure that central and state agencies act in step, with no gap between forecast, warning and ground response. The NDRF’s role as the nation’s first responders has been recognised repeatedly in past disasters, and its early positioning is a key part of the current plan.
What residents should do
People in coastal and low-lying areas should follow official advisories, avoid venturing into the sea, secure loose objects, keep essential documents and medicines ready, and move to designated shelters if instructed by local authorities. Fishermen have been advised to stay ashore, and residents should rely on official weather updates rather than rumours on social media.
Cyclone preparedness is a test of coordination: accurate forecasts, clear warnings, ready shelters and rapid response. With the storm still at sea, the window for preparation remains open. The IMD’s monsoon warnings in recent weeks underline how closely weather systems are now tracked.
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