Cyclone Murasu crosses Andhra coast near Ongole with 120 kmph gusts

Landfall near Ongole

The severe cyclonic storm Murasu crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole in Prakasam district, during 0330 to 0530 hours IST on 3 November 2026. The India Meteorological Department reported sustained winds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph at the landfall point near latitude 15.53°N and longitude 80.22°E.

By 5:30 am IST the system lay centred over south coastal Andhra Pradesh near Ongole, about 40 km southwest of Bapatla, 80 km north-northeast of Kavali, 120 km west-southwest of Machilipatnam and 130 km north of Nellore. It was moving north-northwestwards at about 8 kmph.

Impact and warnings

The landfall process began around 1 am as the wall cloud approached the coast. Heavy rainfall and gale-force winds battered coastal districts including Prakasam, Bapatla, Palnadu and Guntur. Thousands of trees were uprooted, hundreds of electric poles damaged and fishing boats wrecked. Low-lying areas faced a storm surge of 1.0 to 1.5 metres above astronomical tides.

At least 19 domestic flights were cancelled at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati airports. IndiGo cancelled 10 flights and Air India Express two at Vijayawada alone. Schools remained shut in several districts and the state released relief funds of about Rs 37 crore to 17 districts.

Forecast and weakening

IMD expects the system to weaken into a cyclonic storm with winds of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph by noon and further into a deep depression by midnight. Heavy to extremely heavy rain is likely to continue over south coastal Andhra Pradesh through the evening. Doppler Weather Radars at Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam are tracking the system continuously.

Local cautionary signals remain hoisted at several ports including Kalingapatnam, Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. Residents in low-lying coastal areas have been advised to stay indoors until the surge and heavy rain subside.

The cyclone forms part of the post-monsoon activity over the Bay of Bengal. Its relatively rapid weakening after landfall follows the typical pattern once a system loses its oceanic heat source, though residual heavy rain can still cause local flooding and crop damage in the immediate aftermath.