Very severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab is expected to cross Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by 0600 UTC on October 28, India Meteorological Department advisory No. 11 says. IMD forecasts peak sustained winds of 125-135 km/h, gusting to 150 km/h, at landfall. That timing is about 2 in the morning Eastern on Wednesday.

AP reporting on The Hindu said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu put coastal districts from Srikakulam to Krishna on high alert. The state said 84,396 people had been moved to safer sites and that 290 cyclone shelters were ready. Schools in hit districts were to stay closed on October 28. More than 30,000 fishing boats had been brought back from sea, and officials urged people in low-lying villages and islands to move inland.

Reuters, carried on Yahoo News, said thousands had left India's eastern coast and that nearly 50,000 people were in shelters by Monday night, with moves still under way out of a much larger target. Some trains were halted. Odisha officials said they had not begun evacuations yet but had closed schools in several districts as the storm tracked west-northwest over the Bay of Bengal.

IMD said Arnab strengthened quickly and may ease only slightly before landfall, then weaken over land. Heavy rain and gale winds were already hitting coastal Andhra on Tuesday. No deaths from Arnab were reported in the cited coverage.

What we know: IMD expects landfall near Yanam early Wednesday, and Andhra Pradesh reported 84,396 people evacuated.
What we don't: Final landfall strength and whether the shelter count will keep rising overnight.