IMD Rules Out Cyclone Arnab as Deep Depression Set to Cross Andhra-Odisha Coast; Schools Shut and 11 Odisha Districts on Alert

Key facts

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) ruled out the Bay of Bengal system intensifying into Cyclone Arnab, saying it would cross the North Andhra Pradesh-South Odisha coasts between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur, close to Kalingapatnam, as a deep depression by the night of September 23, 2026.
• The deep depression, moving westwards at 12 kmph, was centred near latitude 18.0°N and longitude 84.7°E, about 70 km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam, 150 km south of Gopalpur, 230 km south-southwest of Puri and 150 km east-northeast of Visakhapatnam.
• Squalls with winds gusting up to 75 kmph were likely along and off the North Andhra Pradesh and South Odisha coasts from the morning of September 23 to the evening of September 24, 2026.
• Schools and Anganwadi centres were shut on September 23, 2026 in six Andhra Pradesh districts — Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram Manyam, Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitharama Raju and Anakapalle — with employees' leave cancelled and State Disaster Response Force teams deployed.
• Odisha's chief secretary Anu Garg said collectors of 11 districts were put on high alert, with cyclone and flood shelters kept ready for waterlogging, urban flooding, landslides and mudslides.
• The IMD issued a red alert for parts of southern Odisha from September 23 to 25, 2026, with Koraput, Gajapati and Ganjam likely to receive heavy to very heavy rain on September 23-24, and Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri under red alert for September 24-25.
• Gajapati district shut major tourist spots including Mahendragiri, BN Palace, Paralakhemundi and nine waterfalls such as Gandahati, Budubuda, Khasada and Bramhanadei until further orders, while Malkangiri closed schools and Anganwadi centres from September 24 to 25, 2026.
• Ferry services between Satapada and Jahnikuda in Chilika Lake were suspended until September 25, 2026, and vehicular movement was restricted on some roads including Kalinga Ghat between Ganjam and Kandhamal.