2.5 Million Power Connections Cut as Cyclone Arnab Hits India

Cyclone Arnab has crossed India's Andhra Pradesh coast, leaving flooded neighbourhoods and widespread power cuts, with the state's chief minister reporting five deaths as damage assessments begin. ^[2]

The storm crossed the Andhra Pradesh-Yanam coast between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. on October 28 with maximum sustained winds of 125-135 km/h, according to the India Meteorological Department, as cited by The Hindu. NASA's Earth Observatory confirmed the landfall in its October 29 account. ^[1][2]

The immediate danger extended beyond the coastal crossing. Rain flooded low-lying areas of Visakhapatnam, and the meteorological department warned of moderate to high flash-flood risk across 13 Andhra Pradesh districts through the morning of October 29. The first electricity figures show damage on a scale that will make restoration a major part of the emergency response. ^[2]

The Daily Inference reported on October 27 that Andhra Pradesh and Odisha were moving residents from vulnerable areas ahead of the expected landfall, closing schools, halting fishing and preparing shelters. Al Jazeera subsequently reported that at least 180,000 people had been evacuated across the two states. That is a count of reported evacuations, distinct from the earlier evacuation orders. ^[3]

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said five people had died in the state. He described deaths involving falling trees, a fallen electricity pole, electrocution and a collapsing wall, according to The Hindu. ^[2]

Power damage stretches across 11 districts

Arnab interrupted electricity supply to 2.533 million non-farm connections across 11 districts and affected another 94,439 farm connections. By the evening of October 28, about 638,000 non-farm connections had been restored, according to figures reported by The Hindu. ^[2]

That left roughly 1.9 million of the affected non-farm connections unrestored at that point, calculated from the reported totals. Only about a quarter had regained supply. These are electricity connections, not a count of people without power. ^[2]

The physical damage helps explain the size of the repair task. The storm brought down 6,270 electricity poles and damaged 374 distribution transformers, the equipment that reduces voltage before electricity reaches local users. Restoring service therefore involves repairing the network itself. ^[2]

The deaths described by Naidu also show why the emergency cannot be judged by wind speed alone. Trees, walls and electricity infrastructure were among the hazards he identified on the ground. ^[2]

For the next phase of the response, the useful measure will be how quickly the number of disconnected properties falls. A completed coastal crossing offers little comfort to a household whose electricity supply still depends on replacing a fallen pole.

Rain and surge are different threats

The meteorological department classified Arnab as a very severe cyclonic storm during landfall. Around 8:30 a.m. on October 28, it weakened to a severe cyclonic storm, with sustained winds of 110-120 km/h. That was a reduction in strength, but still left powerful winds after the crossing. ^[2]

At Garividi, the department measured 26 centimetres of rain in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 a.m. on October 28. Its strongest reported sustained wind at an observation station was 96 km/h at Machilipatnam. The station reading and the storm's estimated maximum winds describe different measurements, rather than competing estimates for the same place. ^[2]

Before landfall, the department forecast a storm surge of up to 1.5 metres above the tide level, putting low-lying parts of Andhra Pradesh at risk of inundation, according to Al Jazeera. A storm surge is seawater pushed towards the coast by the storm. Rainfall can cause flooding separately, including away from the shore. ^[3]

The location and height of any actual surge flooding have not yet been established. Nor is there a verified post-storm count of people still displaced or back home, or a complete assessment of damage to housing, crops and infrastructure. The 180,000 evacuation figure cannot answer how many people still need shelter. ^[3]

Flooded fields extend the recovery

Naidu told India's Union Home Minister that more than 70,000 hectares of agricultural crops and more than 10,500 hectares of horticultural crops had been inundated or badly damaged, according to The Hindu. Together, those preliminary figures cover more than 805 square kilometres of cultivated land. They do not yet establish the final harvest loss. ^[2]

Arnab was the first named storm of the 2026 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, according to NASA. The season began unusually late, in a basin that typically produces named cyclones in April or May. ^[1]

NASA's nighttime image captured the storm at 20:12 UTC on October 26, when the meteorological department put its sustained winds at about 140 km/h. The task now is on the ground: establishing who remains displaced, verifying losses and restoring damaged services. The next updates need to show how far those repairs have reached. ^[1][2]