Cyclone Arnab: crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast near Narsapur and Yanam on October 28; seven deaths reported in Andhra, floods in Odisha; what the bulletins, states and reports say

Updated October 30. Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between about 02:00 and 08:00 IST on October 28, after stalling near the shore, with its centre about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur and 40 km southwest of Yanam, India Today reports, citing IMD. Andhra Pradesh's chief minister put the death toll at seven on October 29, The Hindu reports, while The Times of India counted nine. Odisha reported no deaths but had severe flooding in Ganjam and Gajapati districts, The Hindu reports. The sections below the heading "The forecast as of October 27" are the piece as written on October 27 and are kept as that record.

What happened

This section was added on October 30 and rests on reports published up to about 00:15 IST that day. Figures from officials and outlets differ, and each is attributed.

Landfall and intensity

• Where and when: IMD said very severe cyclonic storm Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, southwest of Yanam, between 02:00 and 08:00 IST on Wednesday, October 28, near 16.45°N, 81.9°E, about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, 40 km southwest of Yanam and 60 km southwest of Kakinada, The Hindu BusinessLine reports. The Times of India, quoting IMD's director general, says the forecast path of landfall between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, southwest of Yanam, was almost accurate.
• Intensity: maximum sustained winds were 125-135 km/h gusting to 150 during the crossing, the same figures as in Bulletin No. 19's landfall sentence, India Today reports. The Indian Express reports that the system weakened to a severe cyclonic storm at 08:30 IST, with winds of 110-120 km/h. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said winds reached 125-130 km/h with gusts to 150, The Hindu reports.
• Why it took six hours: IMD said the centre was "practically stationary" near the coast early on October 28, with the northern spiral band already over land, Hindustan Times reports. IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said an anticyclone over the China-Myanmar region, strong westerlies and a low-pressure system over the south Bay of Bengal together held the storm almost stationary for nearly six hours, The Times of India reports. The same report says IMD had first predicted landfall in the forenoon, then revised it to between 02:00 and 04:00, and that Mohapatra said the forecast path and the 135 km/h intensity were "almost accurate". PTI, in ThePrint, reports the process began at about 01:20 IST.
• Storm surge: no IMD measurement of the surge was found in the reports read. The Times of India reports that in Yanam the Godavari swelled and the sea level rose by 1 to 2 m, with seawater breaching coastal boundaries and submerging low-lying areas, without saying who measured it. The Sentinel reports that tidal surges and coastal erosion washed away large portions of the 8 km Kakinada-Uppada beach road.
• Rain: IMD data cited by The Times of India gave 26 cm at Garividi in Vizianagaram district, the highest, and 25 cm at Anakapalli and three other stations in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning. Down To Earth reports 217 mm at Visakhapatnam. In Odisha the worst totals came on Wednesday and Thursday: IMD recorded 546 mm at Patrapur in Ganjam in the 24 hours to 08:30 IST on October 29, followed by 503 mm at Sorada and 462 mm at G. Udayagiri in Kandhamal, The Hindu reports.

Deaths and injuries

The October 27 version of this piece said no report read described deaths or injuries. That has changed, and the counts differ.

• Andhra Pradesh, official: Naidu said at a press conference on Wednesday that five people had died, from a tree falling on a live wire, an electric pole falling on a woman, a palm tree, electrocution and a wall collapse, and announced ₹5 lakh for each family, The Hindu reports. On Thursday he told reporters the casualty was seven, The Hindu reports.
• Other counts: the NDRF said on Wednesday that three people had been killed and 31 houses damaged, Telangana Today reports. Deccan Herald headlined six. The Times of India reached nine, adding an 11-year-old boy killed by a wall collapse in Guntur district. The New Indian Express listed seven, including a woman swept away by floodwater on a two-wheeler in East Godavari, and said the government had confirmed only five at that point. bdnews24.com reports that a state official put the official toll at six on Thursday while The Times of India cited nine. An earlier Hindustan Times report said Naidu's letter to the Home Minister reported no loss of life, Hindustan Times reports, before the toll rose during Wednesday.
• Odisha and Yanam: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Wednesday evening that no loss of life had been reported, Odisha Bytes reports. None of the Thursday Odisha reports read describes a death. Puducherry's chief minister said precautions averted any loss of life, injury or cattle death in Yanam, The Times of India reports.
• Injuries: no report read gives a count of injured people. Rescues are reported, such as four people stranded by floodwater in Kakinada who were rescued by police, Hindustan Times reports.

Evacuations and shelters

• Andhra Pradesh: counts differ by outlet and hour. About 57,000 people were in relief camps, the NDRF said, Telangana Today reports, and the NDRF official quoted by Prameya News gave more than 55,000. The Indian Express quotes Naidu as saying 290 shelters held 84,396 people. The Sentinel quotes the state disaster authority's head as saying more than 76,000. Hindustan Times reports Naidu's letter saying over 28,000 had been shifted. The Times of India says more than 20,000. Prameya News cites state authorities for more than 57,000 people from 764 villages.
• Odisha: Chief Secretary Anu Garg's review put 31,255 people in 324 shelters in eight districts on Wednesday, Prameya News reports. The chief minister's briefing that evening gave 43,827 people in 634 shelters in the same eight districts, and 2,245 pregnant women moved to health facilities, of whom 931 delivered during the storm, Pragativadi reports. On October 27 the minister's figure was 47,830 and the Special Relief Commissioner's 48,010; the later counts are lower and none of the reports read explains the gap.
• Both states: Reuters's figure of more than 180,000 evacuated in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha before landfall, Ada Derana (Reuters) reports, is a sum the state counts above do not reproduce.
• Flood-hit Odisha: after the rain, 42,500 people were marooned in Ganjam and 11,000 had been moved to shelters there, The Hindu reports. The chief secretary said 62,500 people were affected in Ganjam and Gajapati and that rescue teams had moved 11,882 people in Ganjam and 17,441 in Gajapati, Orissa Post reports.

Damage in Andhra Pradesh and Yanam

• Cost: Naidu put the preliminary loss at ₹4,600 crore on October 29, The Hindu reports. The state's energy minister estimated ₹500 crore of damage to the power sector, The Hindu reports.
• Crops: estimates rose and differ. Naidu's letter to the Home Minister said about 70,900 hectares, Hindustan Times reports. The New Indian Express said about 2.2 lakh hectares in 14 districts, and The Times of India reported 3.08 lakh hectares in preliminary estimates, with about 74,000 hectares in West Godavari, the worst hit. These are preliminary and are not final enumerations.
• Power: at least 15,000 electric poles were damaged, Naidu said, bdnews24.com reports, and he said at least 8,000 were uprooted in Konaseema alone, with supply to be restored by Saturday, The Hindu reports. Visakhapatnam was reported back to normal on Thursday, with about 70 per cent of drinking water supply restored and 1,192 trees uprooted in the city, The Times of India reports.
• Houses: the NDRF said 31 houses were damaged on Wednesday (Telangana Today, above). Naidu's letter said about 180, mostly in Konaseema (Hindustan Times, above). Both are early counts and no later total was found.
• Trees and roads: West Godavari's collector said roughly 4,000 trees were uprooted in her district, blocking the Palakollu-Narasapuram and Bhimavaram-Narasapuram roads, The New Indian Express reports. Naidu said nearly 50,000 trees fell in Konaseema and West Godavari, and a state press release says 33,000 coconut trees were uprooted in Konaseema alone, The New Indian Express reports, citing PTI.
• Yanam: Puducherry's chief minister sought ₹50 crore in interim central aid, citing about 2,500 people moved to 21 shelters, the loss of about 101 hectares of paddy and damage to about 30 houses, The Times of India reports. A separate Times of India report on Yanam says about 60 thatched houses were damaged (Times of India, above). The two counts for Yanam differ.
• Ship: a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, Sigma Pearl, was stranded off Kakinada. Orissa Post reports six crew and a Coast Guard operation on Thursday; bdnews24.com (above) reports 20 crew and the vessel still stalled in rough seas.

Odisha

• What reached the state: the effect in Odisha was rain and flooding from the weakening system as it moved north, not a second landfall. Odisha Bytes reports the chief minister saying 17 districts were affected, Gajapati the most, with the highest rain on Wednesday of 249.9 mm at Mahendragiri in Gajapati in the 24 hours to 08:30 IST.
• Floods: on Thursday the Rushikulya, Vansadhara and Mahendratanaya rivers were in spate and a stretch of National Highway 326 between Berhampur and Mohana was washed away, The Hindu reports. The number of villages affected is given differently: 299 in Ganjam and 711 in Gajapati by the Special Relief Commissioner's office, The New Indian Express reports; around 300 villages in Ganjam, Hindustan Times reports; and more than 200 villages in 22 blocks across both districts, The Hindu reports.
• Airlifts: the chief secretary first spoke of airlifting about 120 people (Hindustan Times, above) and said around 2,000 people were marooned in 70 villages, OdishaTV reports. The Coast Guard said it winched six people from a flooded health centre at Jagmohan in Dharakote block, The Hindu reports. Orissa Post reports the chief secretary saying 2,328 people from 70 villages were being airlifted, a figure that does not match the earlier plans or the Coast Guard's count of six. The Times of India reports Odisha fire services rescued at least 300 people in Ganjam over 24 hours.
• Schools: Ganjam and Gajapati extended closures to October 31, Odisha Bytes reports.
• Rayagada: the district stayed on alert on Wednesday, but its collector said only 40 mm had fallen in 24 hours and "no major threat exists", The Economic Times reports.

Transport

• Trains: South Coast Railway cancelled 57 trains and rescheduled 15, Deccan Herald reports, which is above the 53 in the October 27 notices. On Thursday flooding at two bridges on the Ichchapuram-Jhadupudi section led East Coast Railway to cancel nine trains and divert 14, The New Indian Express reports; later that day the combined East Coast and South Coast count was 36 cancelled, 30 diverted and eight regulated or rescheduled, The Economic Times reports.
• Flights: operations at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry airports were suspended, and at least 19 Air India group flights were cancelled, Telugu360 reports, citing the civil aviation ministry. All flights at Visakhapatnam's Bhogapuram airport were cancelled on Wednesday, The Times of India reports, after its Tuesday report that operations there were normal. Bhubaneswar's airport was largely normal, The Kathmandu Post reports, citing the airport director.

Where the system is now

• IMD status: IMD said Arnab weakened to a severe cyclonic storm at 08:30 IST on October 28 (The Indian Express, above). By Thursday morning it was a deep depression about 60 km south of Malkangiri, moving north at 15 km/h, Hindustan Times reports. IMD's Mohapatra said it was a depression over Chhattisgarh, Prameya News reports, and IMD expected it to weaken further into a well-marked low-pressure area over north Chhattisgarh and adjoining northwest Odisha, The Times of India reports. That is broadly in line with the table in Bulletin No. 19, which had a deep depression at 11:30 IST on October 29 and a depression at 23:30 IST.
• Next system: a fresh low-pressure area formed over the Andaman Sea and southwest Bay of Bengal, and IMD forecasts heavy rain in Andhra Pradesh coastal districts on November 2 and 3, The Times of India reports in the same article. No cyclone warning for it was found.

The forecast as of October 27

Everything from here to the section "What was not known on October 27, and what is known now" is the piece as written at 18:57 IST on October 27, before landfall. It is kept as the record of the forecast and of what states had done by then, and it has not been revised, so its future-tense statements are superseded by the section above.

Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab, over the west-central Bay of Bengal, is forecast to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by the forenoon of Wednesday, October 28, with maximum sustained winds of 125-135 km/h gusting to 150 km/h, according to the India Meteorological Department's National Bulletin No. 19. The bulletin's text still gives the 11:30 IST position on Tuesday, 170 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, after a west-northwestward move at 20 km/h over the previous six hours; the first row of its forecast table is the 14:30 IST position, 16.2°N, 83.3°E. Andhra Pradesh has closed schools in coastal districts and prohibited sea fishing, The Times of India reports, and Odisha has begun moving people out of low-lying areas in its southern districts, The Hindu reports.

This piece is as of 18:57 IST on Tuesday, October 27. Bulletin No. 19 was issued at 17:15 IST and was the latest listed on IMD's website when it was checked at 18:57; it says the next message will be issued at 20:30 IST. The state-action sections below were refreshed at 18:57 IST and rest on reports published up to about 18:20 IST. The forecast can change with each bulletin.

What changed since Bulletin No. 18

• Landfall: the landfall sentence is unchanged: a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained winds of 125-135 km/h gusting to 150, crossing between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by the forenoon of October 28. Bulletin No. 17 had raised that figure from 115-125 gusting to 140 in Bulletin No. 16.
• Position: the text repeats the 11:30 IST position from Bulletin No. 18, near 16.2°N, 83.7°E and 170 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, with the same 20 km/h movement over the previous six hours. The forecast table, which began at 11:30 IST in No. 18, now begins at 14:30 IST at 16.2°N, 83.3°E.
• Winds at sea: the table's rows for 14:30 and 17:30 IST are 155-165 gusting to 185 (No. 18: 150-160 gusting to 180 at 11:30 and 17:30 IST), and the row for 23:30 IST is 140-150 gusting to 170 (No. 18: 140-150 gusting to 175). The west-central Bay of Bengal wind warning has the same changes: 155-165 gusting to 185 prevailing, easing to 140-150 gusting to 170 by midnight. The row for 05:30 IST on October 28 and the rows after it are unchanged.
• Storm surge: now 1.5 to 2.5 m above the astronomical tide at landfall, up from 1.0 to 2.0 m in Bulletins No. 16, No. 17 and No. 18. The peak is still expected near Kakinada and Yanam.
• Heading and radar: the heading now reads "Post Land Cyclone Warning for Andhra Pradesh and adjoining South Odisha coasts" (No. 18: "Cyclone Warning ..."), while the text still forecasts the crossing by the forenoon of October 28. The bulletin now says the system is under surveillance of the Doppler Weather Radars at both Visakhapatnam and Machilipatnam.
• Unchanged: the wind warnings for the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts and for the eight named districts, the sea-condition, rainfall and squall warnings, the red message and the advice to fishermen are the same as in No. 18.

The forecast in IMD's Bulletin No. 19

• Position: the text gives 11:30 IST, near 16.2°N, 83.7°E, which it places 170 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 180 km east-southeast of Kakinada, 270 km east of Machilipatnam, 350 km east of Bapatla and 370 km south-southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha. The first row of the forecast table is 14:30 IST at 16.2°N, 83.3°E.
• Track: west-north-westwards until the evening of October 27, then north-westwards to the coast. Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The Times of India repeat the track and the distances from earlier bulletins.
• Landfall: "between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam", as a very severe cyclonic storm, "by forenoon of 28th October". IMD's table puts the centre at 16.4°N, 82.1°E at 05:30 IST on October 28 and at 17.0°N, 81.8°E, as a severe cyclonic storm, at 11:30 IST that day.
• Strength on the way in: the table has maximum sustained winds of 155-165 km/h gusting to 185 at 14:30 and 17:30 IST on October 27, easing to 140-150 gusting to 170 at 23:30 IST and to 135-145 gusting to 160 at 05:30 IST on October 28. The bulletin's landfall sentence gives 125-135 gusting to 150; it does not say how that relates to the table's 05:30 IST row. After that the table has a severe cyclonic storm with 100-110 gusting to 125 at 11:30 IST on October 28, a cyclonic storm with 80-90 gusting to 100 at 23:30 IST, a deep depression with 50-60 gusting to 70 at 11:30 IST on October 29, a depression at 23:30 IST on October 29 and at 11:30 IST on October 30, and a well-marked low-pressure area at 23:30 IST on October 30.
• Pronunciation and name: IMD gives the pronunciation as "Ornab". The name was proposed by Bangladesh and means "ocean" or "sea" in Bengali, Mint reports, adding that names on the North Indian Ocean list are not reused. The Indian Express calls it the first cyclonic storm of the 2026 North Indian Ocean season.

Winds, rain, sea and surge

• Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam: IMD names Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, East Godavari, West Godavari, Konaseema, Krishna and Bapatla. Gale winds of 60-70 km/h gusting to 80 are prevailing, becoming 90-100 gusting to 110 from the night of October 27 and 140-150 gusting to 170 from early morning to forenoon on October 28, falling to 90-100 gusting to 110 by that evening. For the wider Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, IMD's wind warning has 70-80 gusting to 90 commencing, 100-110 gusting to 120 from the night of October 27 and 135-145 gusting to 160 from early morning to forenoon on October 28, easing to 80-90 gusting to 100 by that evening.
• Southern Odisha, southern Chhattisgarh and north-east Telangana: squally winds from the night of October 27 and gales of 60-70 km/h gusting to 80 from the early hours of October 28. IMD names Ganjam, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri in Odisha, Sukma, Dantewada, Bijapur and Bastar in Chhattisgarh, and Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mulugu and Mahabubabad in Telangana. Along the south Odisha coast IMD forecasts squally winds of 45-55 gusting to 65, becoming 50-60 gusting to 70 from the evening of October 27 to noon on October 28.
• Rain: extremely heavy rainfall (21 cm or more) at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh on October 27 and 28. For October 28 IMD lists heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy at isolated places over south Odisha and south Chhattisgarh, and heavy to very heavy at isolated places over eastern Telangana. For October 29 it lists heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places over north Chhattisgarh and at isolated places over East Uttar Pradesh.
• Sea: "phenomenal" sea conditions over the west-central Bay of Bengal until the afternoon of October 28, and along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts from the night of October 27 until the afternoon of October 28, improving to very high to high by that evening.
• Storm surge: 1.5 to 2.5 m above the astronomical tide is "very likely to inundate low lying areas of Andhra Pradesh" at landfall, with the peak near Kakinada and Yanam. Bulletins No. 16 to No. 18 said 1.0 to 2.0 m.
• Fishing: IMD advises fishermen not to go into the west-central Bay of Bengal or along and off the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts from October 27 to 29.
• Expected impact in coastal Andhra Pradesh: IMD lists total destruction of thatched houses, extensive damage to kutcha houses, some damage to pucca houses, uprooted power and communication poles, widespread damage to standing crops, and major disruption of railways. It suggests suspending fishing and moving coastal hutment dwellers to safer places.

District alerts in Andhra Pradesh

Reports describe IMD's colour-coded rainfall warnings by district. No newer report read gives a fuller district list for Wednesday; the lists below are unchanged, with the newer counts noted.

• Tuesday: The Times of India lists red warnings (extremely heavy rain) for Anakapalle, Kakinada, Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari and Eluru districts and Yanam; Hindustan Times, quoting the state disaster management authority, lists five districts: Kakinada, Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari and Eluru.
• Wednesday: The Times of India lists red warnings for 11 districts: Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Anakapalle, Kakinada, Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Krishna and Guntur. Hindustan Times also lists 11 for extremely heavy rain, with Polavaram in place of Guntur. The News Minute (Tuesday morning, time zone unconfirmed) names the same 11 districts for a red alert without giving a day, and ETV Bharat's live blog says the IMD issued a red alert for 12 Andhra Pradesh districts for October 28 without naming them. Orange warnings on Wednesday, in The Times of India's list, cover Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam, Vizianagaram and Bapatla districts and Yanam.
• Flash floods: The Hans India (10:53) lists 14 districts under a flash-flood warning: Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, Yanam, Konaseema, West Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, NTR and Alluri Sitharama Raju. It gives no dates.
• Exposure: Hindustan Times and Republic World report preliminary assessments that expect 16 districts, with 2,460 revenue villages and 92 urban areas, to face significant impact.

What Andhra Pradesh has done

• Funds: the state released ₹27 crore on Monday night to 20 districts, Hindustan Times reports; RTV (dated October 26) lists ₹2 crore each for Bapatla, Krishna, West Godavari, Konaseema, East Godavari, Kakinada and Anakapalle, and ₹1 crore each for 13 others. The Indian Express's "20 districts" and Hindustan Times's seven-plus-13 split therefore agree.
• Shelters and control rooms: PTI, in Telangana Today, says 2,131 cyclone shelters had been set up across the state's 20 districts; Hindustan Times and Republic World give 1,763 shelters, 2,907 control rooms and 3,185 nodal officers. Deccan Chronicle (13:47) lists state and district control-room numbers for 20 districts.
• Alerts and medical: PTI says alerts are going to the phones of 2.70 crore people across 18 districts, 1,087 medical teams are deployed, and 8,281 emergency beds and 1,274 ambulances are ready.
• Evacuations (moved): Reuters reports that nearly 50,000 people had been moved to shelters by Monday night, out of 400,000 estimated to need evacuation, and quotes Prakhar Jain, managing director of the state disaster management authority: "Evacuation is continuing." Its figure is for Monday night, not Tuesday evening.
• Evacuations (Kakinada coast): National Herald reports that 101 relief camps are ready for about 89,000 people, and that all 130 residents of Hope Island off Kakinada were moved to Kakinada city on Monday; its headline says 89,000 people are being evacuated, while its text gives 89,000 as the capacity of the camps. Scroll, citing The Hindu, says nearly 89,000 people on the Kakinada coast are being moved to relief camps; the Kakinada collector said in RTV (October 26) that about 80,000 people in coastal areas had been alerted, and RTV adds that 101 relief centres have been prepared to move people if needed.
• Evacuations (other districts): In Visakhapatnam district, The Hindu reports that the administration has identified 37 villages in 11 mandals where 10,176 households are likely to be affected, and has readied 54 relief camps with room for 31,405 people.
• Pregnant women: Siasat (PTI, 12:15) says 4,711 are being shifted to health centres and hospitals; The Indian Express (08:57) says they had been shifted; PTI, in Telangana Today, says 1,351 have already been shifted to hospitals.
• Response teams: Siasat says 15 NDRF teams are stationed across Kakinada, Amalapuram, Konaseema, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Narsapuram, Machilipatnam and Nakkapalli, two at Yanam, and three each at the NDRF battalion headquarters in Krishna and the Regional Response Centre in Visakhapatnam. A central government statement, reported by Siasat, says Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard teams are "ready". Scroll, citing ANI, says 31 NDRF teams are deployed across the likely-affected states, 12 of them in Andhra Pradesh and two in Yanam, with about 11 SDRF teams in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh; Hindustan Times reported seven NDRF and eight SDRF teams ready in the affected districts, with five NDRF and three SDRF available.
• Coast and sea: beaches are closed and traffic on coastal roads is to be suspended from Tuesday afternoon, Hindustan Times reports. PTI says traffic between Uppada and Kakinada is disrupted by rough seas; the Deccan Chronicle's live blog says at 14:45 rising waves inundated coastal areas of Uppada, Konapapeta and Mulapeta in Kakinada district. The same blog lists port warning signals (14:22): Kakinada GD-10, Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram GD-9, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam GD-8, and Kalingapatnam, Krishnapatnam and Vadarevu LC-3.
• Fishermen: all fishermen who had gone to sea have returned safely, Siasat reports, and 30,043 fishing boats are secured in harbours, Hindustan Times reports; PTI says more than 30,000 boats are secured. The Deccan Chronicle blog (15:51) quotes the advice that fishermen should not go to sea until the morning of October 30.
• Schools: educational institutions in affected districts are closed, Siasat reports. The Hans India says two-day holidays were announced in coastal and north Andhra districts, with Anakapalli closed on October 27, 28 and 29; RTV (October 26) says institutions in Kakinada would stay closed "tomorrow and the day after", that is October 27 and 28. The Indian Express (earlier cited here) said October 27 to 31; none of the newer reports read repeats that.
• Trains: South Coast Railway listed 53 services for cancellation on October 27 and 28, India TV (October 26, 21:35, updated 23:41) reports, in its Bulletin No. 1; the Deccan Chronicle (October 26, 23:46) also says 53. India TV adds that train 67290, the PSA-Visakhapatnam MEMU, would pick up the next link, train 67287 on the Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram route, on October 27, after the Rajahmundry-Visakhapatnam MEMU pair 67285 and 67286 was cancelled. Orissa Post reports 53 trains within Andhra Pradesh for October 27 and 28, plus further services such as Visakhapatnam-Kirandul and Visakhapatnam-Koraput; its headline says 61. Scroll, citing The Hindu, puts the total at "at least 64" for Tuesday and Wednesday. Reuters says rail services on 53 routes along the southern coast were suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday and that railway authorities said at least 12 trains were cancelled in the east. PTI says about 600 km of track in the Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam divisions is under surveillance.
• Flights: at Vijayawada, the Deccan Chronicle blog (15:04) lists cancelled flights on Tuesday afternoon and evening: IndiGo to and from Kadapa (6E 7711/7712), Hyderabad (6E 2780/2581), Chennai (6E 7305/7302) and Bengaluru (6E 7247/7246), and Air India Express IX 2413/2414 to and from Visakhapatnam. DT Next reports four IndiGo flights between Chennai and Visakhapatnam or Vijayawada cancelled on Tuesday, and that the status of Chennai-Andhra flights on October 28 was uncertain. YoVizag says four Air India Express flights between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad or Bengaluru were listed as cancelled by noon and four IndiGo services diverted; it shows no clock time. Air India's advisory said flights to and from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada on October 27 might be affected. No report read covers Rajahmundry or flights scheduled for Wednesday.
• Chief minister: Chandrababu Naidu held a tele-conference review with district collectors on Tuesday and told officials to move people out of low-lying areas, keep food and drinking water at relief camps, restore power quickly and use NDRF and SDRF teams fully, The Hans India (16:55) reports; the Deccan Chronicle blog puts a review with collectors at 14:42.

What Odisha has done

• Evacuated: Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, Suresh Pujari, said at a Tuesday briefing that 47,830 people had been evacuated "as of this morning" and that evacuation was still under way, The Hans India (IANS, 16:51) reports: Nabarangpur 11,090, Gajapati 11,000, Malkangiri 9,850, Ganjam 6,500, Koraput 5,000, Kalahandi 2,415, Nuapada 1,675 and Rayagada 300. The first-phase plan was 48,000 across eight districts, Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Patil said, The Hindu reports, and PTI, in Telangana Today, still says the government "aims to move around 48,000 people". ETV Bharat's live blog (12:59) reports the Special Relief Commissioner, Rajesh Patil, giving 48,010 people evacuated from eight districts on data to 11:00, with the number still rising: Nabarangpur 11,270, Gajapati 11,000, Malkangiri 9,850, Ganjam 6,500, Kalahandi 2,415, Nuapada 1,675 and Rayagada 300; those seven add up to 43,010, and the entry does not list Koraput (5,000 in Pujari's count). Its 17:23 entry reports an Odisha government statement saying need-based evacuations have been planned. Reuters reports Patil telling it that there had been no evacuations in Odisha so far. The reports do not reconcile these.
• Pregnant women: about 3,000 may need evacuation and 1,614 have been moved, Pujari said, The Hans India reports; Kalinga TV reports that officials in Gajapati are transferring 210 expectant mothers nearing delivery within the next 15 days. Odisha Bytes had reported that the chief secretary told the National Crisis Management Committee that about 3,000 would be moved.
• Shelters: 135 permanent cyclone shelters and about 1,600 temporary ones, Odisha Bytes reports, quoting Patil; PTI gives the same two figures. Pujari separately said 466 flood and cyclone shelters had been made ready, and that shelters in eight districts had become operational (Gajapati 175, Nabarangpur 134, Koraput 47, Malkangiri 35, Ganjam 27, Nuapada 17, Kalahandi 14, Rayagada 7), The Hans India reports.
• Funds: ₹19 crore, with ₹5 crore to Ganjam and ₹2 crore each to Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal, Odisha Bytes and PTI (via Vartha Bharati, 14:47) report.
• Teams: The Hindu and The Hans India (IANS) give 48 units of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, eight NDRF teams and 225 fire services teams; The Hans India adds that some teams are being kept in reserve at Koraput, Chhatrapur and Mundali. PTI gives 294 teams: nine NDRF, 60 SDRF and 225 fire services, with Ganjam holding two NDRF and nine SDRF; the state's additional director general (law and order), Sanjay Kumar, said 60 ODRAF teams were deployed, ETV Bharat's blog reports (15:07). In Gajapati, Kalinga TV lists two ODRAF contingents, one NDRF contingent and 10 fire units; in Puri, 12 fire teams, one ODRAF team and 98 lifeguards, ETV Bharat reports (16:01).
• Schools: closures differ by report: five districts on October 28 and 29, The Indian Express reports (Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri, The Economic Times names); six districts on October 28 and 29, adding Nabarangpur, Siasat (PTI) and ETV Bharat (09:35) report; eight unnamed districts on Tuesday and Wednesday (October 27 and 28), PTI in Telangana Today reports; five districts on Tuesday and Wednesday, Reuters reports.
• Gajapati: the district collector identified 15,000 vulnerable people and 281 shelters, The Economic Times reports, citing ANI; Kalinga TV gives the same two figures and does not report how many had been moved. The district is under an orange warning for October 27 and 28 and a red warning for October 28 and 29.
• Rain warnings: IMD has an orange warning (12-20 cm) for Puri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri and a yellow warning (7-11 cm) for 16 other districts, PTI reports; Telangana Today does not date either warning.
• Coast and sea: sea fishing is banned, Siasat reports. At Paradip, 305 fishermen were accommodated at a berth, 34 Andhra fishing boats were sheltered at Gopalpur port and 98 boats that had gone to sea were returned at Puri; Chilika boat and ferry services were restricted from October 26 to 29, and restrictions were imposed on movement in landslide-prone areas, ETV Bharat's blog reports (10:06, 13:28, 16:01, 17:23).
• Rail: the Bhubaneswar-Jagdalpur Hirakhand Express is short-terminated at Rayagada on October 27 and 28, ETV Bharat reports (17:41).

Where the reports differed before landfall (October 27)

• Landfall time. IMD says by the forenoon of October 28, and most reports repeat it; Reuters and ETV Bharat say Wednesday morning and about noon respectively, and Scroll says early on Wednesday. The Times of India's Visakhapatnam report says the storm will cross on Wednesday afternoon, while the same paper's earlier national report says Wednesday morning. Al Jazeera gives 11:30 on Wednesday local time without saying which bulletin line it uses. The South First (October 25) said the afternoon of October 28 under an earlier forecast.
• Landfall winds. IMD's Bulletin No. 19 text gives 125-135 km/h gusting to 150 at landfall, as Nos. 17 and 18 did (No. 16: 115-125 gusting to 140). The same bulletin's table has 135-145 gusting to 160 at 05:30 IST on October 28 and 155-165 gusting to 185 at 14:30 and 17:30 IST on October 27, and its wind warnings have 135-145 gusting to 160 for the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts and 140-150 gusting to 170 for the named districts from early morning to forenoon, so the figure depends on which line is read. India Today gave 125-135 gusting to 150 earlier in the day; reports written before No. 17 may carry the earlier 115-125 figure. Pragativadi, citing the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, gives 176 km/h sustained gusting to 213 at landfall, a different agency's estimate. This piece uses IMD's figures.
• Storm surge. IMD's Bulletin No. 19, issued at 17:15 IST, says 1.5 to 2.5 m; Bulletins No. 16 to No. 18 said 1.0 to 2.0 m. The Hindu BusinessLine and The Economic Times, reporting earlier in the day, say 1.0 to 1.5 m, citing IMD. Reports written before No. 19 will not carry the higher figure.
• Distances and speed. Telangana Today and The Indian Express quote the 02:30 IST position (about 300 km south-east of Visakhapatnam, moving at 25 km/h), and Republic World's distances and speed match it; the 05:30 IST position in Bulletin No. 16 is 260 km, at 22 km/h, the 08:30 IST position in Bulletin No. 17 is 220 km, at 20 km/h, the 11:30 IST position in Bulletin No. 18 is 170 km, at 20 km/h, and the text of Bulletin No. 19 repeats the 11:30 IST position. They are different bulletin times, not conflicting measurements.
• Telangana rain. The Times of India and The Hindu BusinessLine say extremely heavy rain is likely at isolated places in Telangana on October 28; Bulletins No. 16, No. 17, No. 18 and No. 19 list heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places in eastern Telangana. The reports do not say which IMD product they draw on.
• Number of people evacuated. The figures are different kinds of numbers. In Andhra Pradesh, Reuters's nearly 50,000 is a count of people moved by Monday night, against 400,000 estimated to need evacuation (Al Jazeera adds that the authority says more than 12 million people live along the projected path), while 89,000 is the capacity of the Kakinada camps or a count of people being moved, depending on the outlet, 80,000 is the number alerted in Kakinada, and 31,405 is the Visakhapatnam district camp capacity. In Odisha, Pujari describes 47,830 as people evacuated as of Tuesday morning and ETV Bharat reports Patil giving 48,010 on data to 11:00, while The Hindu and PTI describe 48,000 as a plan or aim and Reuters reports the relief commissioner saying there had been no evacuations. The first four district figures in Pujari's count are identical to the first-phase plan figures The Hindu gave (Gajapati 11,000, Malkangiri 9,850, Ganjam about 6,500, Koraput 5,000), and Nabarangpur is 11,090 against 11,000 (11,270 in ETV Bharat's entry). Gajapati's 15,000 is a count of vulnerable people.
• Trains. Counts range from 8 (The Indian Express, October 26) to 53 (South Coast Railway Bulletin No. 1, as India TV reports; the Deccan Chronicle also says 53), 61 (Orissa Post headline) and "at least 64" (Scroll, citing The Hindu); The Times of India says more than 50 and Reuters says 53 routes plus at least 12 in the east. A Daily Pioneer live-blog entry (13:23 IST) says South Coast Railway said cancellations had passed 70; no railway notice or second outlet read confirms it, so it is not used. The reports do not always say which dates, services or railway zone they count.
• Response teams. Andhra Pradesh NDRF counts are 7 (Hindustan Times), 12 (Scroll) and 15 (Siasat), and Odisha's are 8 (The Hindu, IANS) and 9 (PTI, Scroll); Odisha's state force is 48 ODRAF (The Hindu, IANS), 60 ODRAF (ETV Bharat, Scroll) or 60 SDRF (PTI). Counts are for different hours and may mean teams ready, deployed or requested.
• Shelters. Andhra Pradesh: 1,763 (Hindustan Times, Republic World) and 2,131 (PTI). Odisha: 135 permanent and about 1,600 temporary (Patil, per Odisha Bytes and PTI); "over 1,735" in an Odisha government statement (Odisha Bytes, ETV Bharat); and 466 made ready (Pujari, IANS). The reports do not say how these counts relate.
• Pregnant women. Andhra Pradesh: 4,711 (Siasat: "being shifted"; The Indian Express: "had been shifted") against 1,351 "already shifted" (PTI, in Telangana Today). Odisha: about 3,000 may need moving and 1,614 have been moved (Pujari, IANS).
• Schools. Andhra Pradesh: closed until October 31 (The Indian Express) against two days with Anakapalli to October 29 (The Hans India) and Kakinada for October 27 and 28 (RTV). Odisha: five, six or eight districts, and October 27-28 or October 28-29, as in the Odisha section.
• Flights. The Times of India said none had been cancelled from the Visakhapatnam airport at Bhogapuram and that operations there were normal on Tuesday; later reports (YoVizag, Deccan Chronicle blog 15:04) list cancellations and diversions on routes to and from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, and they differ on how many and which airline.
• Landfall date. Mint's explainer says Wednesday, "October 18"; IMD and every other report read say October 28.
• Who ordered what. The Indian Express's question-and-answer piece lists measures ordered by Chandrababu Naidu under Odisha; Hindustan Times, National Herald, The Hans India (16:55) and the Deccan Chronicle blog (14:42) place his directions in Andhra Pradesh, where this piece reports them. Odisha's measures are attributed to Pujari and Patil in the reports above.

Where the reports differ after landfall

• Landfall time. IMD's window is 02:00 to 08:00 IST (The Hindu BusinessLine). PTI says the process began at about 01:20 IST (ThePrint). Deccan Herald says IMD said it first touched the coast between 02:30 and 03:00 with greater intensity than forecast, while the IMD director general says the forecast intensity was almost accurate (The Times of India). An NDRF official, as quoted by Prameya News, gave about 08:30 IST for landfall, which is the time IMD gave for the weakening to a severe cyclonic storm (The Indian Express). The Indian Express's live blog, as relayed by The Kathmandu Post, puts the six-hour crossing on October 29, which does not match any other report; IMD and every other report read say October 28.
• Landfall place. IMD's position is in Andhra Pradesh, southwest of Yanam, near Narsapur. Telangana Today and the Kathmandu Post say near Yanam in Puducherry, and Prameya News says near the Kakinada region. They are describing the same crossing, with Yanam, Narsapur and Kakinada as reference points 40 km, 20 km and 60 km away.
• Landfall winds and peak. IMD gives 125-135 km/h gusting to 150 at landfall; Naidu gave 125-130 km/h (The Hindu); The New Indian Express wrote 115 to 135 km/h. Down To Earth says IMD recorded 150-160 km/h gusting to 180 at the evening peak on October 27 and the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated about 222 km/h, and explains that the JTWC uses a one-minute average and IMD a three-minute average.
• Storm surge. IMD forecast 1.5 to 2.5 m in Bulletin No. 19. A Reuters report published after landfall still carried 1 to 1.5 m (Ada Derana), which matches reports written before Bulletin No. 19, not IMD's 1.5 to 2.5 m. The one observation found is The Times of India's 1 to 2 m rise in sea level in Yanam, with no source for the measurement.
• Deaths. Three (NDRF), five (Naidu, Wednesday), six (Deccan Herald; a state official to bdnews24.com), seven (Naidu, Thursday; The New Indian Express; The Kathmandu Post), eight (The Times of India on Wednesday evening) and nine (The Times of India, later). India Today quoted Naidu as saying six to eight on Thursday. The Times of India's nine includes a boy killed in Guntur district and The New Indian Express's seven includes a woman swept away in East Godavari; the reports do not say which of these the state counts. Counts also rose through the day. Odisha reports none.
• Evacuation figures. Andhra Pradesh: more than 20,000 (The Times of India), over 28,000 (Naidu's letter), about 55,000 to 57,000 (NDRF), more than 76,000 (state disaster authority, per The Sentinel) and 84,396 (Naidu, per The Indian Express). Odisha: 31,255 and 43,827. Reuters's 180,000 covers both states. The reports do not say whether these count people in shelters at one time or people moved over several days.
• Trains and flights. Counts range from 22 services cancelled between October 27 and November 5 (The Economic Times) to 57 cancelled by South Coast Railway (Deccan Herald) and 36 cancelled by both railways combined on Thursday (The Economic Times). They are counts of different railway zones, dates and sections.

What was not known on October 27, and what is known now

The October 27 version ended by saying that no report read described deaths or injuries, and that the point and hour of landfall, the number in shelters on the Andhra Pradesh coast, how Odisha's 47,830 and 48,010 related to the reports calling 48,000 a plan, and whether Andhra Pradesh schools would stay shut would become clearer in later bulletins and state updates. Where those questions stand now:

• Deaths and injuries: Andhra Pradesh's chief minister said seven people died (The Hindu); The Times of India counted nine (The Times of India). Odisha reported none (Odisha Bytes). No injury count was found.
• Point and hour of landfall: between 02:00 and 08:00 IST on October 28, about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, as a very severe cyclonic storm with winds of 125-135 km/h gusting to 150 (India Today).
• Shelters in Andhra Pradesh: no single count; reports from Wednesday range from about 20,000 to 84,396 (see the evacuation section above).
• Odisha's counts: the later official counts are 31,255 (chief secretary's review) and 43,827 (chief minister), both for eight districts (Prameya News, Pragativadi). No report read reconciles them with October 27's 47,830 and 48,010.
• Andhra Pradesh schools: Visakhapatnam's educational institutions stayed closed on Thursday, The Times of India reports. No report read gives a state-wide reopening date.

Still not known from the reports read: the final death toll and any injury count; a final count of damaged houses; the enumerated crop loss (estimates run from 70,900 to 308,000 hectares); whether anyone died in the Ganjam and Gajapati floods after Thursday; how many people were airlifted; and what the central team that Naidu said would arrive in Konaseema and West Godavari on Friday finds. IMD's own post-landfall bulletins were not read for this update; the IMD figures above are as reported by the outlets named.