The facts

  1. AFP, citing the India Meteorological Department, reported landfall winds of 125–135 kilometres per hour, gusting to 150. The storm subsequently weakened as it moved inland. [1][2]

  2. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said 14 coastal districts were badly affected. Officials reported damage to about 79,000 acres of crops and dozens of homes, according to AP's 28 October report. [2]

  3. The IMD sea-area bulletin valid from 18:00 UTC on 28 October to 06:00 UTC on 29 October used a 15:00 UTC observation locating Arnab near 17.3°N, 81.7°E, about 60 kilometres northwest of Kakinada. It forecast further weakening and rough seas; that observation is not a later live position. [3]

  4. Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P. Patil said a Coast Guard helicopter completed its first rescue sortie on Thursday afternoon, with further sorties under way. Starting an airlift does not establish that everyone awaiting rescue has been evacuated. [6]

  5. Chief Secretary Anu Garg reported 299 flood-affected villages in Ganjam, including 70 cut off, with 2,328 people targeted for airlift. This distinguishes affected villages from the smaller number marooned. [6]

  6. Officials reported 11,882 people evacuated in Ganjam and 17,441 in Gajapati. These district totals are not a completed airlift count and should not be added to older Andhra Pradesh evacuation figures. [6]

  7. The State Relief Commissioner’s office reported 546 millimetres of rain at Patrapur by Thursday morning. NASA’s 29 October account confirms the cyclone’s 28 October landfall and widespread damage, without supplying these later rescue totals. [6][7]

  8. By 1 November, the reported death toll from the cyclone’s aftermath in Odisha had reached six after two bodies were recovered at Gidipabali, according to the Fire and Emergency Services director-general as quoted by The Times of India. [8]

  9. The Times of India report attributed 11 missing people to the Fire and Emergency Services director-general. PTI reported about 10 missing and said search operations would continue through Tuesday; the counts differ and are not combined. [8][9]

Still unconfirmed

  • The final death toll and overall damage remain unsettled. Earlier Andhra Pradesh figures and the dated IMD storm observation are not current Odisha rescue totals.
  • The final scope and completion of the helicopter evacuation remain unknown. The confirmed first sortie is not proof that all 2,328 people awaiting airlift have been rescued.

Corrections & updates

Update: Added the 29 October Odisha flood emergency, with roughly 300 villages stranded and a planned helicopter evacuation of about 120 people. Rescue plans are not reported as completed operations. Earlier Andhra Pradesh casualties, evacuation totals and storm observations retain their stated dates.

Update and clarification: PTI now reports the Coast Guard’s first rescue sortie completed, replacing the earlier planned-airlift status. Its later official briefing distinguishes 299 flood-affected villages from 70 cut off and identifies 2,328 people targeted for airlift; the earlier roughly 300-villages-marooned wording is replaced with that distinction. Added dated district evacuation figures without treating them as completed airlifts or combining them with older Andhra Pradesh totals.

Substantive update, 2 November: added the 1 November regional reports that put the Odisha aftermath death toll at six and said searches were continuing. The reports give different missing-person counts (11 versus about 10), which remain attributed and unresolved.

Sources

References support the numbered facts above. Source checks: 2 Nov 2026, 04:07 UTC.

The new six-death toll and missing-person figures are attributed to Odisha officials in regional reporting and PTI. Existing evacuation and flood-affected-village data are dated 29 October and remain separate from these later casualty updates.

  1. Three killed in storm in southern India

    Agence France-Presse · Reporting · 28 Oct 2026

    Independent agency reporting, including attributed weather-service and disaster-response information. Its earlier evacuation figures differ in timing from AP's later report; they are not added together.

  2. Cyclone batters India's eastern coast, killing 3 and damaging homes and farmland

    The Associated Press · Reporting · 28 Oct 2026

    AP is independently owned from AFP. Casualties, evacuation and damage figures are attributed to officials rather than represented as independent counts.

  3. Sea area bulletin: valid 18 UTC 28 October to 06 UTC 29 October 2026

    India Meteorological Department · Primary source · 28 Oct 2026

    Checked bulletin issued at 00:14 IST on 29 October, equivalent to 18:44 UTC on 28 October. The storm observation is from 20:30 IST, or 15:00 UTC, on 28 October. This rolling URL can later show a newer bulletin.

  4. Floods maroon 300 villages in Odisha’s Ganjam; state plans airlift

    The New Indian Express, with Press Trust of India inputs · Reporting · 29 Oct 2026

    Actual report updated 10:10 as displayed. It attributes the rescue and village figures to Chief Secretary Anu Garg, chiefly through PTI.

  5. Odisha government to airlift around 120 stranded people in Ganjam

    Argus English · Reporting · 29 Oct 2026

    Separate regional broadcaster's report by Patit Mandal of Garg's press conference. It reports 299 villages; both reports use the same government briefing, rather than independent population counts.

  6. Cyclone Arnab: Coast Guard airlifts people from Odisha villages

    Press Trust of India, via Siasat · Reporting · 29 Oct 2026

    Actual 17:58 IST report read. Rescue milestones and changing village/evacuation counts are attributed to Anu Garg and Rajesh P. Patil; PTI copies are one reporting origin.

  7. Arnab strikes India

    NASA Earth Observatory · Primary source · 29 Oct 2026

    Official satellite analysis and landfall account read. Its damage discussion cites news reporting and is not an independent count of later Odisha rescues.

  8. Death toll in Odisha from Cyclone Arnab aftermath climbs to 6

    The Times of India · Reporting · 1 Nov 2026

    Opened regional report dated 21:22 IST on 1 November. It attributes six deaths and 11 missing to the Fire and Emergency Services director-general, including two bodies recovered from Gidipabali.

  9. Cyclone Arnab death toll rises to 6 with two bodies recovered in landslide-hit south Odisha village

    Press Trust of India, via The Economic Times · Reporting · 1 Nov 2026

    Opened PTI report dated 21:18 IST. It reports six deaths, about 10 missing and search operations through Tuesday; the missing-person figure differs from the later Times of India report.

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