Severe Cyclone Murasu is bearing down on India’s Andhra Pradesh coast and is expected to make landfall late on Monday night, bringing winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour and extremely heavy rainfall to the region.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the storm intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal. At 5:30 a.m. on November 2, the system was located approximately 200 kilometres east-northeast of Chennai, 210 kilometres east-southeast of Nellore and 260 kilometres southeast of Ongole. The IMD forecast that it would move northwestwards and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, between 11:30 p.m. on November 2 and 4:00 a.m. on November 3, with sustained winds of 100–110 kmph and gusts up to 120 kmph.
The IMD has issued a red message cyclone warning for the Andhra Pradesh and adjoining north Tamil Nadu coasts, with heavy to very heavy rain, and extremely heavy rain at isolated places, expected on November 2 and 3.
Second cyclone in a week
Murasu is the second cyclonic storm to threaten India’s east coast in less than a week. Cyclone Arnab affected Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Odisha on October 28, and India’s November 2 reports said more than 1.8 lakh people had been evacuated across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha during preparations for that storm. Authorities in the region are again on high alert, with evacuation protocols under way for residents in high-risk zones and low-lying coastal belts.
Odisha is also likely to receive rainfall under Murasu’s influence, with isolated very heavy rainfall forecast in southern coastal districts including Ganjam and Gajapati on November 3 and 4. The IMD’s forecast covers Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala, with Telangana and Chhattisgarh also on alert for heavy rain.
What residents should do
Officials have urged people in coastal districts to follow IMD bulletins and local administration instructions, avoid venturing into the sea, and stay away from vulnerable structures as the storm approaches. Fishermen have been advised not to go out, and district administrations have readied shelters and relief supplies. The next IMD bulletin will confirm whether Murasu holds its course and intensity as it closes on the coast.
