Fresh cyclonic system in Bay of Bengal may reach Andhra coast by November 3, days after Cyclone Arnab

Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are bracing for another weather system barely a week after Cyclone Arnab. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea strengthened into a depression at 11:30 am on Saturday.

At that point the system lay roughly 330 km west-southwest of Sri Vijayapuram in the Andaman Islands and about 300 km west-northwest of Car Nicobar. It is moving west-northwest towards the west-central Bay of Bengal.

Expected track and strength

According to the IMD's afternoon bulletin, the depression was expected to become a deep depression within about 12 hours and a cyclonic storm in the 12 hours after that. Forecasters expect it to be near the Andhra Pradesh coast by Monday evening, November 2.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the system could cross the Andhra coast on Tuesday morning, November 3, with sustained winds of 80 to 90 km/h and gusts reaching 100 km/h. That would make it considerably weaker than Arnab, which struck Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on October 28 with winds of around 150 km/h at landfall. The Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said it was tracking the system closely and would issue further updates.

Concern in flood-hit Odisha

The timing is a worry for southern Odisha, which is still dealing with Arnab's aftermath. The IMD has forecast heavy rain over Odisha on Tuesday and Wednesday. All India Radio reported that dozens of villages in Ganjam district remain surrounded by floodwater, with the Rushikulya river above the danger mark at some points, while the Vansadhara and Mahendratanaya rivers have flooded low-lying parts of Gajapati and landslides have cut roads in Kandhamal.

Navy and Coast Guard helicopters have been airdropping food to cut-off areas, the broadcaster said. It reported that four people have died in rain-related incidents since Arnab.

What residents should do

Residents of coastal Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha should follow IMD bulletins and district administration advisories over the next few days, particularly fishermen and people living in low-lying or landslide-prone areas. The storm's exact landfall point and strength may change as forecasts are updated.