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Verified WorldsAid record

Cyclone Arnab completes landfall in Andhra Pradesh and Yanam

Natural disaster

Severity score13 / 100 · Watch

How the score is calculated

The score starts at 8. It adds points from recorded affected, deaths, displaced and casualty counts, plus terms found in the story title, event type or status. For each count, only its highest matching band is used.

Affected people
1–999: +5 · 1,000–9,999: +12 · 10,000–99,999: +20 · 100,000–999,999: +28 · 1 million+: +35
Deaths
1–9: +8 · 10–99: +14 · 100–999: +22 · 1,000+: +30
Displaced people
1–9,999: +6 · 10,000–99,999: +12 · 100,000+: +18
Casualties
100 or more: +8
Story wording
+10 for terms such as catastrophe, famine, war, conflict, major earthquake, mass casualty or critical. Otherwise, +5 for active, ongoing, emergency, outbreak, cyclone or hurricane.

Score bands: Watch 0–24 · Moderate 25–49 · High 50–74 · Critical 75–100. Scores are capped at 100. Missing or unparseable figures add no points.

This is a rule-based WorldsAid triage indicator, not an official or independently validated classification. It does not account for recency or local context, and it can understate events with incomplete reporting. Check the linked sources.

Last verified28 Oct 2026
Data as of
First dated
Status
LANDFALL COMPLETE · FIVE DEATHS REPORTED BY AP CHIEF MINISTER · SEPARATE EARLIER NDRF / ODISHA FIGURES · 4M MODELLED CATEGORY 1+ EXPOSURE
Aid Zone
ASIA
Countries
India
Location context
Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, near Narsapur, India
Agency
India Meteorological Department; GDACS / JTWC
Globe contextIndia

ASIA Aid Zone

Country context →
The global view shows where this event sits in its wider regional context.
Geolocated eventCoastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, near Narsapur, India

16.5000, 81.9000

Interactive view →
Mapped from the retained event geolocation; source precision is preserved rather than inferred.
IMD INSAT-3DS infrared satellite image of Cyclonic Storm Arnab over the Bay of Bengal at 00:00 UTC on 26 October 2026
INSAT-3DS infrared satellite image at 00:00 UTC on 26 October 2026. IMD located Cyclonic Storm Arnab over the east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal near 15.4°N, 89.0°E. Photo: India Meteorological Department · INSAT-3DS

In brief

  • What happenedThe India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, southwest of Yanam, during 02:00–08:00 IST on 28 October.
  • Reported impactGDACS currently models 4 million people exposed to Category 1 or stronger winds. This is modelled exposure, not confirmed impact.
  • What help is neededResponse priorities should be confirmed in the linked source reports as needs change.

What changed

Updated verified snapshot

This record was first dated 2026-10-26 and last verified 2026-10-28T23:01:13Z.

Situation

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, southwest of Yanam, during 02:00–08:00 IST on 28 October. IMD said the landfall process was complete by 08:00 IST, with the storm centre entirely over land.

At 08:30 IST, IMD located Arnab near 16.5°N, 81.9°E over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam and adjoining Westcentral Bay of Bengal. It had weakened to a Severe Cyclonic Storm. IMD reported sustained winds of 125–135 km/h, gusting to 150 km/h, during the crossing.

GDACS currently reports 4 million people exposed to Category 1 or stronger winds and a maximum modelled wind speed of 222 km/h (Category 4). GDACS lists the overall alert as Red and the latest episode as Orange. The exposure and wind estimates are model outputs, not confirmed impacts.

Human impact reports, 28 October: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said at a press conference that five people had died in cyclone-related incidents (The Hindu live report and follow-up). This is the state-government count he gave; press reports of up to eight deaths have not been confirmed in the sources cited here. Earlier, NDRF Inspector General Narendra Singh Bundela reported three deaths in Andhra Pradesh and about 57,000 people moved to relief camps. In Odisha, Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil told PTI that more than 30,000 people had been evacuated and no major casualties had been reported at that time. The figures are attributed snapshots from separate briefings; no consolidated official bulletin was available in the cited sources. People in the affected area should follow IMD and local authority instructions.

WorldsAid verification

A WorldsAid editor reviewed this record against 17 attributed sources, cleaned feed formatting and checked the crisis, place and reporting date. 11 human-impact figures were separated from the narrative and dated where the source allowed. Earlier observations remain in the evidence history instead of being silently overwritten.

Verified figures

Modelled Category 1 exposure
4 million people · GDACS current snapshot, feed modified 09:21 UTC, 28 Oct · modelled, not confirmed impact retained at 2026-10-28
Landfall status
Complete by 08:00 IST, 28 Oct · Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, southwest of Yanam · IMD National Bulletin 25 retained at 2026-10-28
Latest observed centre
16.5°N, 81.9°E · 08:30 IST, 28 Oct · Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam · IMD retained at 2026-10-28
Current IMD classification
Severe Cyclonic Storm at 08:30 IST, 28 Oct · after landfall retained at 2026-10-28
Winds during landfall
125–135 km/h, gusting to 150 km/h · IMD National Bulletin 25 retained at 2026-10-28
GDACS maximum modelled wind
222 km/h · Category 4 · forecast, not observed landfall wind retained at 2026-10-28
Earlier modelled tropical-storm exposure
24.7 million people · historical GDACS model output, 27 Oct; not confirmed impact retained at 2026-10-27
Andhra Pradesh deaths
5 · Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at a press conference, 28 Oct · state-government report retained at 2026-10-28
Earlier NDRF briefing
3 deaths in Andhra Pradesh · about 57,000 people moved to relief camps · IG Narendra Singh Bundela, 28 Oct retained at 2026-10-28
Odisha evacuation
More than 30,000 evacuated · SRC Rajesh Prabhakar Patil told PTI · no major casualties reported at that briefing, 28 Oct retained at 2026-10-28
Press death tolls
Reports of up to 8 deaths are unconfirmed in the sources cited here retained at 2026-10-28

What we knew when

  1. WorldsAid record entered the retained historical dataset.
  2. IMD VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM FORECAST · GDACS ORANGE · MODELLED EXPOSURE ONLY preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  3. IMD STORM-SURGE WARNING ADDED · GDACS ORANGE UNCHANGED preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  4. GDACS RED · MODELLED CATEGORY 1 EXPOSURE RAISED TO 3 MILLION preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  5. GDACS RED RETAINED · MODELLED EXPOSURE AND TRACK FORECAST REVISED preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  6. IMD VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM · CENTER 15.9°N, 86.0°E AT 18:00 UTC · GDACS EPISODE 4 RED · 6,028,106 MODELLED CATEGORY 1+ EXPOSURE preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  7. IMD NATIONAL BULLETIN 15 · VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM CENTER 15.9°N, 85.4°E AT 21:00 UTC · GDACS EPISODE 4 RED preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  8. IMD VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM · CENTER 16.2°N, 83.3°E AT 09:00 UTC · 125–135 KM/H LANDFALL WIND FORECAST · 1–2 M SURGE WARNING · GDACS RED preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  9. IMD VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM · CENTER 16.3°N, 82.7°E AT 17:30 IST · LANDFALL ADVANCED TO 02:00–04:00 IST · 1.5–2.5 M COASTAL SURGE FORECAST preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  10. IMD VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM · CENTRE 16.3°N, 82.4°E AT 20:30 IST · GDACS EPISODE 7 RED · 4.9 MILLION MODELLED CATEGORY 1+ EXPOSURE preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  11. IMD VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM · CENTRE 16.4°N, 82.0°E AT 05:30 IST · LANDFALL PROCESS CONTINUING · 115–125 KM/H GUSTING 140 preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  12. IMD COASTAL BULLETIN 10:24 IST · LANDFALL PROCESS CONTINUING · 125–135 KM/H GUSTING 150 · SURGE FORECAST 1.0–1.5 M preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  13. IMD NATIONAL BULLETIN 25 · LANDFALL COMPLETE BY 08:00 IST · SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM AT 08:30 IST · CENTRE 16.5°N, 81.9°E preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  14. GDACS CURRENT EVENT SUMMARY · 4 MILLION MODELLED CATEGORY 1+ EXPOSURE · OVERALL RED; LATEST EPISODE ORANGE preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  15. GDACS EPISODE 6 RED · 7.4 MILLION MODELLED CATEGORY 1+ EXPOSURE · HISTORICAL FORECAST SNAPSHOT preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
  16. AP CHIEF MINISTER REPORTS FIVE DEATHS · EARLIER NDRF BRIEFING REPORTS THREE · ODISHA EVACUATIONS REPORTED SEPARATELY preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source

Earlier figures are never replaced by later values; additional observations are retained as new ledger entries.

Provenance

This page renders the last verified WorldsAid cache directly in HTML. It does not treat generated summaries as primary evidence.

Cached dataset: worldsai_drup771.sql.gz

Record integrity:
VerifiedSHA-256 445e0963679bb334953322cb5fea3340be3cf6ba63eed88e01eb0648ac11a4e7

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