The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm Arnab ground into an agonizingly slow phase along the Andhra Pradesh coast early Wednesday, remaining practically stationary near Narsapur in West Godavari district. According to updates reported by The Hindu, the forward edge of the system began its terrestrial push around 1:30 a.m. on October 28, 2026, with meteorologists projecting that the landfall phase would linger for another two to three hours.
Weather specialists at the India Meteorological Department cautioned that pinned down by shifting mid-tropospheric steering currents, the system's precise landfall coordinates remained complex to pin down even as its northern spiral bands penetrated deep into the mainland. The prolonged friction of a stationary tropical cyclone prolongs torrential rain bands over single locations, elevating the risk of urban inundation and severe drainage failure across coastal districts.
Torrential Downpours Swamp Northern Coastal Districts
North coastal Andhra Pradesh endured the brunt of the overnight deluge. The Andhra Pradesh Directorate of Economics and Statistics registered extreme localized rainfall, led by Kannuripalem in Anakapalli district's Kasimkota mandal, which recorded 263 mm during the 24 hours leading up to 8:00 a.m. Wednesday.
Matching that intensity, Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district logged approximately 263 mm, while the 16th Police Battalion campus in Visakhapatnam registered 260 mm. The meteorological network revealed widespread saturation: 39 automatic weather stations situated across Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, and Vizianagaram surpassed the 204.5 mm threshold within a single recording period.
| Location / District | 24-Hour Rainfall (to 8 a.m. Oct 28) | Primary Operational Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Kannuripalem (Anakapalli) | 263 mm | Severe waterlogging across low-lying agricultural zones |
| Bhogapuram (Vizianagaram) | 263 mm | Flash runoff impacting arterial highway approaches |
| Visakhapatnam City (16th Bn) | 260 mm | Urban street inundation near key rail corridors |
| Regional Station Network | >204.5 mm (39 stations) | Localized drainage failure across north coastal belt |
Aviation Halts and Coastal Impact in Neighboring States
The prolonged storm system prompted broad defensive measures across transportation sectors. The Ministry of Civil Aviation initiated emergency reviews to evaluate passenger safety, resulting in the cancellation of at least 21 scheduled flights between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. At Vijayawada airport, after canceling initial regional services to Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kadapa on Tuesday, authorities moved to scrub all flight operations for Wednesday.
Farther south, heavy tidal action disrupted commuter corridors. The Ennore Expressway and low-lying coastal roads in north Chennai and Tiruvallur districts witnessed heavy surf overtopping sea walls on Tuesday evening. Concurrently, disaster management authorities in southern Odisha placed emergency teams on heightened alert as the peripheral rain bands shifted northward along the Bay of Bengal coastline.
