Cyclone Arnab to Cross Andhra Coast between Bapatla, Visakhapatnam Early Wednesday
Amaravati, Oct 27 (TNT): Very Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Arnab’, packing winds of 140-150 kmph with gusts up to 165 kmph, is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, south of Yanam, between 0200 and 0400 hours on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday night.
In its bulletin issued at 2300 hours, the IMD said the storm was centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal near latitude 16.33°N and longitude 82.15°E at 2230 hours, about 70 km south of Kakinada, 50 km east-southeast of Narsapur and 120 km south-southwest of Tuni.
It was also located about 110 km east of Machilipatnam and 200 km southwest of Visakhapatnam.
The storm moved west-northwestwards at a speed of 17 kmph during the preceding six hours.
The IMD forecast that the system would cross the coast with wind speeds of 125-135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph.
A storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 metres above the astronomical tide was likely to inundate low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh during the next six hours, the bulletin said.
The maximum peak surge was expected near Kakinada and Yanam in the Union Territory of Puducherry, the bulletin added.
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