Cyclone Arnab remained "practically stationary" along the Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday with landfall expected to continue for up to three hours, the IMD said, amid heavy rains in a number of districts in the southern state.At some places in the state, police rescued stranded people. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation on Wednesday morning.
According to the IMD, the northern spiral band of the cyclone has further entered the land, while the storm's centre remains very close to the coastline."The cyclone remains practically stationary along the Andhra Pradesh coast, and the landfall process is expected to continue for another 2-3 hours," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in an update at 5.30 am.
The very severe cyclonic storm was located over the west central Bay of Bengal close to the Andhra Pradesh coast, near latitude 16.4 degrees north and longitude 82.0 degrees east, about 30 km east of Narsapur, 45 km south-southwest of Yanam, 70 km south-southwest of Kakinada and 90 km east-northeast of Machilipatnam.
The system is likely to continue moving north westwards and cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to the south of Yanam, as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of up to 135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph during the next three hours, the weather update said
Under the influence of the cyclone, heavy rain struck several places in the Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Konaseema districts.Collectors of Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Konaseema and West Godavari reported heavy rainfall and strong winds in their respective districts. Trees had fallen at some places due to the impact of the cyclone.
In Kakinada, police rescued four people stranded in floodwaters near Bombay Katta area after heavy rain and seawater inundated the area, a district police press release said.
The four people, who had reported for duty in the morning, remained stranded until night after floodwaters completely surrounded the place where they were staying, leaving them with no way to get out. They informed the police about their situation, following which a rescue operation was launched.The police safely rescued all four people, helped them board a vehicle and sent them to their homes, it said.