Cyclone Murasu Turns Severe, Set to Cross Andhra Coast Near Ongole Tonight; Chennai Schools Shut

Cyclone Murasu has strengthened into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, and is now expected to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast late tonight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday, 2 November.

Where it is now

At 2:30 am IST, the storm was centred near 13.6°N, 82.5°E, about 260 km east-northeast of Chennai, 290 km east-southeast of Nellore and 330 km southeast of Ongole. It was moving northwest at around 20 kmph.

Landfall

The IMD expects Murasu to cross the coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, between 11:30 pm on 2 November and 4 am on 3 November. Sustained winds of 100–110 kmph, gusting up to 120 kmph, are forecast at the time of landfall.

States on alert

• Andhra Pradesh: moderate to heavy rain today over south and central coastal districts, with isolated extremely heavy falls, turning heavy to very heavy on 3 and 4 November. Twenty mandals in Eluru, Krishna, NTR and Bapatla districts are forecast to see extremely heavy rain. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed preparations on Sunday and cancelled a planned Delhi visit.
• Tamil Nadu: heavy to very heavy rain is likely at isolated places in Chennai and Tiruvallur today. Schools and colleges in both districts are closed.
• Telangana: orange alerts for Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool and Wanaparthy; yellow alerts for Hyderabad and nearby districts.
• Odisha: southern districts are on alert, with rain intensifying on 3 November. In Rayagada, fire teams and road-clearing machinery have been deployed along National Highway 326.

Murasu comes days after Cyclone Arnab, which crossed the Andhra coast on 28 October. Residents should follow IMD bulletins and local administration advisories.

Featured image: Satellite view of a cyclone over the Bay of Bengal, 2021 (for representation). Photo: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC, Public domain (source).

Sources

• Cyclone Murasu intensifies into severe storm, to hit Andhra coast by Nov 3 – Business Standard
• Cyclone Murasu intensifies into severe cyclonic storm – India TV