India braces for Cyclone Arnab with evacuations

Tube :https://t.co/BAXJYDMhyH…pic.twitter.com/xKOyxMCF88— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept)October 27, 2026Cyclones, called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Pacific, are a regular menace in the Bay of Bengal and northern Indian Ocean. The storm season, however, has been turbocharged by the El Niño weather phenomenon that has caused unprecedented warming.

Read:Pakistan among countries vulnerable to 'super' El Niño. Neighbouring Sri Lanka, meanwhile, closed schools with warnings of torrential rain, with the island's Department of Meteorology warning storms could trigger flash floods and mudslides. The military has been placed on alert, Colombo's Disaster Management Centre said.

India's weather bureau said it expects the cyclone to result in "total destruction" of thatched houses and create localised flooding, uprooting of power and communication poles, and "widespread damage" to standing crops. State Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has ordered the storm to be "constantly monitored and advance precautions taken", his office said in a statement on Monday.

Also Read:Strong El Nino could push 49m into acute hunger. Local media reported that Andhra Pradesh authorities had ordered evacuations in key, low-lying areas and shut "all educational institutions" in some districts from Tuesday until Saturday.

Over 4,700 pregnant women residing in potentially dangerous localities were moved to hospitals, according to. The Indian Expressnewspaper.