Cyclone Murasu Crosses Andhra Coast Near Ongole With Gusts of 120 km/h; No Casualties Reported So Far

Cyclone Murasu, a severe cyclonic storm, made landfall on the south Andhra Pradesh coast close to Ongole in Prakasam district in the early hours of Tuesday, 3 November. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the landfall process began around 1 am, when the storm’s wall cloud reached the shore, and later updates put the crossing between Nellore and Narsapur at roughly 3:30 am to 5:30 am.

At the point of landfall, winds of 100–110 km/h were recorded, with gusts touching 120 km/h. At 1:30 am, the system was centred about 40 km south-east of Ongole, 60 km north-east of Kavali and 70 km south of Bapatla.

Damage so far

Strong winds brought down trees and electricity poles along the coast. In Ongole, a statue of Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu on the Prakasam Bhavan collectorate premises collapsed after a tree fell on it. No deaths or injuries had been reported by early Tuesday morning, and the Chief Minister directed officials to make sure there is no loss of life and to keep power crews ready to restore supply quickly.

Thousands of people living in low-lying and flood-prone areas were moved to safer places. Six NDRF and seven SDRF teams were on standby. IMD had warned of a storm surge of around 1 to 1.5 metres above the astronomical tide, which could flood low-lying parts of Prakasam, Bapatla and Krishna districts.

Rain alert and travel disruption

Heavy to very heavy rain, with extremely heavy falls at isolated places, is expected in Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam, Markapuram and Nellore. Very heavy rain is also likely in parts of Eluru, East and West Godavari, NTR, Palnadu, Tirupati and Chittoor. Officials warned that rainfall in the Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala catchments could push flood inflows of around 13–15 TMC.

At least 19 domestic flights were cancelled on Monday at Vijayawada, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam airports, and flights were also affected at Chennai, where heavy rain has lashed the city and neighbouring districts since Sunday night.

The storm is forecast to weaken into a cyclonic storm (80–90 km/h winds) by noon on Tuesday and into a deep depression by midnight. This is the second cyclone to hit the state in under a week, after Cyclone Arnab.

Helplines

Residents can report fallen trees, power cuts or waterlogging through the state’s “Mana Mitra” WhatsApp service at 9552300009. Emergency numbers are 112, 1070 and 1800-425-0101.

Earlier: Cyclone Murasu turns severe ahead of landfall near Ongole.

Featured image: Ongole town seen from Ongole Konda (file photo). Photo: Serijarla, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source).

Sources

• Heavy rains lash Andhra coast as Cyclone Murasu makes landfall – The Week
• Cyclone Murasu crosses southern Andhra with wind speed of up to 120 kmph – The South First
• Cyclone Murasu Live Updates – ETV Bharat