Cyclone Murasu Begins Landfall Process on South Andhra Pradesh Coast

Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu entered the landfall process on the south Andhra Pradesh coast late on November 2, according to the India Meteorological Department. At 2330 IST the storm was centred near 15.1°N, 80.4°E, approximately 50 km east-northeast of Kavali and 50 km southeast of Ongole.

IMD forecasts the storm will cross the coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, with sustained winds of 100–110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph. The landfall window runs from 2330 IST on November 2 to 0400 IST on November 3. Outer spiral bands had already entered south coastal Andhra Pradesh, and the wall-cloud region was approaching the coastline.

A storm surge of 1.0–1.5 m above astronomical tide is expected to inundate low-lying areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh, with the highest surge forecast over Bapatla, Krishna, and Prakasam districts. Extremely heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh on November 2 and 3. Heavy rainfall is also expected in parts of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to remain on high alert. Schools and colleges were closed in multiple districts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. At least 19 domestic flights were cancelled at Vijayawada, Tirupati, and Visakhapatnam airports. Indian Railways had earlier cancelled nine trains as a precaution.

This is the second cyclone to affect the region within a week. Cyclone Arnab made landfall earlier and left six people dead. Officials stated that the impact of Murasu is expected to be more limited than Arnab’s, but precautionary measures remain in place to protect life and property. Palnadu district is forecast to receive the highest rainfall, around 30 cm, followed by Prakasam with 24 cm.

Great Danger signals were hoisted at several ports. Doppler weather radars at Chennai, Machilipatnam, and Visakhapatnam continue to monitor the system. The storm moved north-northwestwards at about 8 kmph in the hours before the late-evening bulletin.

Residents in low-lying coastal areas have been advised to move to safer locations. Fishing operations remain suspended. The combination of strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surge creates the primary risks for the next 12–18 hours as the system crosses the coast and begins to weaken over land.

Previous cyclones in the Bay of Bengal have shown that even systems of this intensity can produce significant local flooding and disruption when they make landfall near populated coastal districts. The short interval after Cyclone Arnab means that some recovery work from the earlier storm is still incomplete in affected areas.

IMD continues to issue hourly updates. The landfall process is expected to conclude in the early hours of November 3, after which the remnant system is forecast to move north and then north-northeast ahead of an approaching upper-level trough.