Bhubaneswar: The landfall process of Cyclone 'Arnab' is likely to be completed within the next hour, with the rear portion of the cyclone's eyewall cloud region entering the coastal area of Andhra Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its bulletin issued at 8.30 am on Wednesday.

According to the IMD's bulletin, the centre of the system was located over the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts near latitude 16.4°N and longitude 81.9°E at 7.30 am. It was situated around 20 km east of Narsapur, 70 km south-southwest of Kakinada and 80 km east-northeast of Machilipatnam.

The cyclone remained practically stationary during the preceding hour, and the weather system was expected to move slowly northwestwards initially before turning north-northwestwards.

Wind speed to reach 140 kmph

The cyclone was generating sustained winds of 115-125 kmph near its centre, with gusts reaching 140 kmph. These wind speeds were expected to continue over the landfall region for the next two hours before gradually decreasing, the IMD said.

Strong winds were prevailing along and off the coast of West Godavari (Konaseema), Kakinada and Yanam in Puducherry's Union Territory.

Storm surge threat to low-lying areas

The IMD warned that a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 metres above the astronomical tide was very likely to inundate low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh during the next two hours. The threat was expected to decrease thereafter.

Heavy rainfall recorded along the coast

Several coastal locations recorded significant rainfall up to 7.30 am on Wednesday. Vishakhapatnam-Waltair received the highest rainfall at 217 mm, followed by Kalingapatnam at 147 mm, Tuni at 123 mm, Kakinada at 118 mm and Machilipatnam-Franchepet at 115 mm.

Gopalpur in Odisha recorded 94 mm of rainfall, while Puri received 72 mm during the reported period.