Severe Cyclone Murasu began making landfall on India’s eastern coast early on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to the south Andhra Pradesh coast only a week after Cyclone Arnab struck the same region.
The severe cyclonic storm started crossing the coast at 1:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, 3 November (1930 GMT on Monday), the IMD said. It is the second storm to hit the region in a week, after Cyclone Arnab, which killed at least six people when it made landfall in Andhra Pradesh last Wednesday.
Landfall near Ongole with 120 kmph gusts
The IMD forecast the storm to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, as a severe cyclonic storm with sustained winds of 100 to 110 kilometres per hour, gusting to 120 kilometres per hour.
The weather department issued a red warning for the Andhra Pradesh coast and the adjoining north Tamil Nadu coast, and warned of a storm surge of 1.0 to 1.5 metres over low-lying areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh at the time of landfall.
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall was forecast for coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema, with extremely heavy rain also expected in Telangana on Tuesday and heavy rain in southern Odisha. The IMD said the system was expected to weaken into a cyclonic storm over land by late Tuesday morning.
Thousands evacuated to safety
Authorities in Andhra Pradesh began evacuating people from vulnerable coastal areas on Monday, with plans to move about 30,000 people to safety, disaster management officials said. Around 2,000 people had already been moved by Monday, according to the state’s disaster management authority.
National and state disaster response teams were positioned across vulnerable districts, schools were closed in affected coastal areas, and fishermen were advised to stay off the sea in the south-west Bay of Bengal. At least 21 flights were cancelled in Chennai and Vijayawada as a precaution, and rail services were disrupted across the region.
FAKTA
- Storm: Severe Cyclone Murasu, formed over the Bay of Bengal
- Landfall began: 1:00 a.m. IST on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, on the south Andhra Pradesh coast
- Landfall zone: Between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole
- Winds: 100–110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph
- Storm surge: 1.0–1.5 metres over low-lying south coastal Andhra Pradesh
- Evacuations: About 30,000 people planned to be moved to safety in Andhra Pradesh
- States worst hit: Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with heavy rain also in Telangana and southern Odisha
Second storm in a week
Murasu follows Cyclone Arnab, which was classified as a very severe cyclonic storm and damaged homes and crops across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha last week. Farmers in Odisha whose paddy crops were damaged by Arnab’s heavy rain now face a fresh spell of heavy rainfall as Murasu moves inland.
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