Cyclone Murasu bears down on Andhra Pradesh coast, with five districts on red alert ahead of landfall on the night of 2-3 November
Cyclone Murasu, which formed over the Bay of Bengal on Sunday, is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur on the night of 2-3 November, with winds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph.
Andhra Pradesh is bracing for a second cyclone in barely a week, as Cyclone Murasu moves towards the state's southern coast and is expected to make landfall on the night of 2-3 November as a severe cyclonic storm. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has placed five coastal districts on red alert for 2 November, warning of extremely heavy rain and damaging winds as the system draws closer to land.
Murasu took shape over the weekend. A deep depression over the south-east Bay of Bengal early on Sunday strengthened into a cyclonic storm later in the day, the IMD said, as it tracked west-northwestwards towards the Andhra coast. The name, contributed by India, means war drum in Tamil. By 11.30 am on Sunday the storm was centred over the south-west and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal, about 560 km east-southeast of Chennai, 660 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam and 630 km east-southeast of Nellore.
The forecast track gives the state little time to spare. The IMD expects Murasu to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by the morning of Monday, 2 November, and then to turn northwestwards towards the coast. It is very likely to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur during the night of 2 November and the early hours of 3 November, with sustained winds of 100 to 110 kmph and gusts reaching 120 kmph. Some official briefings have put the likely landfall point near Bapatla, between 11.30 pm on 2 November and 4 am on 3 November, although forecasters caution that the exact point may still shift.
The rain warning is as serious as the wind warning. For 2 November, the IMD has issued a red alert for Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam and SPSR Nellore, where extremely heavy rain is likely, while seven further districts are on orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain. Heavy to very heavy rain is also forecast over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana on 2 and 3 November, and over parts of northern Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet and the Nilgiris. Gusty winds of 80 to 90 kmph are expected along the coast on both days.
The timing makes the storm especially unwelcome. Barely a week earlier, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab battered the Andhra coast, with the northern part of the state bearing the brunt of that system. This time, officials say, it is the central and southern coastal districts that face the greatest risk. The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority has identified 20 mandals that could receive extremely heavy rainfall, including nine in Eluru district, five each in Krishna and NTR districts, and one in Bapatla district.
The state government has moved to a footing of full preparedness. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu cancelled a planned visit to Delhi on Monday in view of the cyclone, and officials briefed him that the system would first strengthen into a cyclonic storm and then into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal. District administrations have been told to follow disaster-management procedures, keep relief and rescue teams ready, and ensure that vulnerable coastal communities are warned in time.
Precautions are already reaching into everyday life. Fishermen have been advised against venturing into the sea along and off the Andhra coast from 2 to 4 November, when conditions are expected to be roughest. Educational institutions in several districts are likely to remain closed on 2 and 3 November, and in Tamil Nadu the revenue administration and disaster management department has directed district collectors to stay vigilant, after the regional meteorological centre warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next three days. Neighbouring Odisha has also issued alerts as the system approaches.
For residents of the coastal belt, the practical advice from the warnings is consistent: stay indoors during the worst of the wind and rain, avoid low-lying and flood-prone areas, keep away from the seafront, and follow updates from the IMD and district authorities rather than rumours on social media. Power and transport disruption is a realistic possibility in the districts under red alert, and people in thatched or weakly built homes in exposed locations have been urged to move to safer shelter where local officials advise it.
What happens after landfall will depend on how quickly the storm weakens over land and how much rain it drops inland. A severe cyclonic storm that crosses the coast at 100 kmph or more can uproot trees and power lines, damage crops and homes, and leave roads waterlogged for days, even if it weakens rapidly once ashore. The heaviest rain may fall not at the landfall point itself but in districts to its north and inland, which is why the warnings extend well beyond the immediate coastline and into Rayalaseema and Telangana.
For now, the picture is one of a state that has had almost no breathing space between storms. Arnab tested Andhra's defences last week; Murasu will test them again, this time further south. The next decisive update will come with the IMD's Monday-morning bulletin, when forecasters will confirm whether the storm has reached severe cyclonic strength and narrow down the landfall window. Until then, the message from officials is unambiguous: the storm is coming, the districts at risk are named, and preparation, not panic, is what will limit its damage.
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