Bhubaneswar: The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ has begun along the Andhra Pradesh coast, with the system remaining practically stationary over the west-central Bay of Bengal near the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, according to the latest observation issued at 5.30 am on Wednesday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said the landfall process would continue for the next two hours as the cyclone remained nearly stationary over the sea.

The system was located near latitude 16.4°N and longitude 82.0°E, around 30 km east of Narsapur, 45 km south-southwest of Yanam, 70 km south-southwest of Kakinada, 90 km east-northeast of Machilipatnam and 120 km south-southwest of Tuni.

Wind speed up to 140 kmph

The cyclone was packing sustained winds of 115-125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph near its centre. Similar wind speeds were prevailing along and off the coast of West Godavari (Konaseema), Kakinada and Yanam in the early hours of Wednesday.

The weather agency said the system was likely to move slowly northwestwards initially before continuing in a north-northwestward direction.

The landfall area was forecasted to be between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, south of Yanam. Winds of 115-125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph, were expected to prevail over the landfall region for the next two to three hours before gradually weakening.

Storm surge threat to low-lying areas

The IMD also warned that a storm surge of 1.0 to 1.5 metres above the astronomical tide could inundate low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh during the next three hours. The surge was expected to subside thereafter.

Heavy rainfall recorded along coast

Several coastal stations recorded significant rainfall by the time of the 5.30 am observation. Visakhapatnam’s Waltair station recorded the highest rainfall at 217 mm, followed by Kalingapatnam at 147 mm, Tuni at 123 mm, Kakinada at 118 mm and Machilipatnam’s Franchpet station at 115 mm.

Gopalpur in Odisha recorded 94 mm of rainfall, while Puri received 72 mm.