AMARAVATI: As cyclone 'Arnab' is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, heavy rainfall is expected in north coastal districts, the APSDMA said on Tuesday.

According to the IMD, the storm moved west-northwestwards at a speed of 25 kmph during the preceding six hours and lay centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal at 2.30 am on Tuesday.

"Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts near Yanam, between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, by the forenoon of October 28," it said.

The system was located about 300 km southeast of Visakhapatnam, 360 km east-southeast of Kakinada, 380 km south of Gopalpur in Odisha, 460 km east of Machilipatnam, 530 km east of Bapatla and 920 km west-northwest of Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman Islands, a release said.

The weather system is very likely to continue moving west-northwestwards until Tuesday evening and thereafter move northwestwards before crossing the coast as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of up to 125 kmph and gusts reaching 140 kmph, it said.

According to the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), the cyclone's impact had begun, with heavy rainfall likely shortly in north coastal Andhra districts. Srikakulam district was likely to witness heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds, while strong winds had begun in coastal districts.

APSDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain urged people to remain alert and follow safety precautions in view of the cyclone's impact.