Cyclone Murasu forms, may hit Andhra near Nellore by 3 Nov: IMD

Cyclone Murasu has formed over the Bay of Bengal and is heading for the south Andhra Pradesh coast. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday (1 November) that the deep depression intensified into Cyclonic Storm Murasu at 11.30 am and is very likely to strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm by Monday morning.

At 11.30 am, the storm was about 560 km east-southeast of Chennai, 630 km east-southeast of Nellore and 660 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, moving west-northwest at 23 kmph, according to IMD.

IMD expects Murasu to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur between around 11.30 pm on 2 November and 4 am on 3 November, as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph. It has issued a cyclone alert for the Andhra Pradesh and adjoining north Tamil Nadu coasts.

Heavy rain is the bigger worry. IMD has issued a red alert, warning of extremely heavy rainfall, for parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh on Monday, including Krishna, Guntur and Bapatla districts, The Times of India reported. Heavy rain is also likely in parts of Rayalaseema on Monday and Tuesday.

In Nellore, District Collector Himanshu Shukla has asked people in low-lying and coastal areas to stay alert for three days from 1 November, told officials to make advance arrangements to shift residents to safer places, and advised fishermen not to go to sea until further notice. A 24-hour control room has been set up at the collectorate on 0861-2331261 and 79955 76699.

Odisha has also put its southern districts on high alert. Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said people would be evacuated from low-lying areas and vulnerable hilly terrain, India Today reported. Officials have been told to move people in high-risk locations to shelters by Sunday night, fishermen have been advised not to venture out between 2 and 4 November, and NDRF and ODRAF teams are on standby. In Ganjam, schools, colleges and anganwadi centres will stay shut until 3 November, the district collectorate said, Zee News reported.

Murasu comes barely a week after Cyclone Arnab, which crossed the coast near Narsapur on 28 October and left flooding behind in Odisha’s Ganjam and Gajapati districts, where relief work is still going on. Our explainer has more on the storm’s track and what its name means.