Cyclone Murasu explained: When it may hit Andhra Pradesh, and what the name means

Days after Cyclone Arnab battered the Andhra Pradesh coast, the state is bracing for another storm. On Saturday (31 October), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to strengthen into a cyclonic storm and head for the Andhra Pradesh coast. If it does, it will be named Murasu.

Where is it now? At 5.30 pm on Saturday, the depression was centred about 960 km east-southeast of Chennai, 980 km southeast of Visakhapatnam and 1,030 km southeast of Machilipatnam, and was moving west-northwest at around 30 kmph, IMD said.

How will it grow? IMD expects it to become a deep depression by Saturday midnight, a cyclonic storm on 1 November and possibly a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by 2 November.

When could it hit land? “There is a slight possibility it may turn into a severe cyclonic storm too, but at present, our forecast is for a cyclonic storm, which should hit the Andhra coastline on the morning of November 3,” IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. He put expected wind speeds at 80-90 kmph, gusting to 100 kmph.

What does Murasu mean? The name was proposed by India and means ‘drum’ in Tamil. Murasu would be the second cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal this year, after Arnab.

Who gets rain? IMD has warned of isolated extremely heavy rain over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on 2 November, and very heavy rain over coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema on 2-3 November. Southern Odisha may get heavy rain on 3-4 November, while Tamil Nadu and Puducherry could see heavy showers until 5 November.

What about fishermen? IMD has told fishermen not to venture into the sea until at least Wednesday afternoon. “From tomorrow onwards, the entire west-central Bay of Bengal, the southeast Bay of Bengal and parts of the central Bay of Bengal will be disastrous or devastating for any boats, small boats or small ships,” Mohapatra said.

What is the state doing? Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has called for a high alert and asked officials to track the depression every six hours using satellite imagery and Doppler radars, while speeding up restoration work in districts hit by Cyclone Arnab, which crossed the coast near Narsapur on 28 October.