Cyclone Murasu Makes Landfall Near Ongole Damaging Crops and Power Lines
Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Prakasam districts early on November 3 with winds of 100-110 km/h, killing at least two people and damaging over 52,000 hectares of farmland.
Ongole2 min read
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Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu made landfall near Ongole in Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. IST on November 3, 2026, with sustained winds of 100-110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h.
The India Meteorological Department tracked the system as it crossed the south Andhra coast between Nellore and Narsapur, closest to the village of Chinaganjam. The storm reached peak intensity equivalent to Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale just before landfall. Its eye measured roughly 40 km by 30 km. A storm surge of 1-1.5 metres above the astronomical tide inundated low-lying areas of Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts.
Damage assessments listed more than 52,000 hectares of agricultural land affected, 31,000 electric poles downed, and 312 houses damaged. Power supply was disrupted in 4,095 villages. At least two people died from collapsed houses. More than 12,000 people remained in cyclone shelters as of November 4. The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission rescheduled results for several urban body elections in the affected districts.
Murasu originated as a low-pressure area over the Andaman Sea on October 29 and intensified into a cyclonic storm over the south-central Bay of Bengal on November 1. It followed a northwest track steered by subtropical ridge anticyclones. After landfall it weakened into a depression by November 3 near southeastern Telangana. By November 4 the system had become a deep depression centred over east Telangana and adjoining coastal Andhra, continuing to bring heavy rain to isolated areas.
Authorities cancelled at least 19 domestic flights at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati airports. Doppler radars at Chennai and Machilipatnam monitored the approach. The IMD had warned 48 districts across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, southern Odisha and northeast Tamil Nadu of heavy rainfall, strong winds and surge risks from November 2 to 4.
The cyclone arrived days after Cyclone Arnab struck further north near Kakinada. Recovery work focuses on restoring power, clearing debris and assessing crop losses in Prakasam, Bapatla, Nandyal and Krishna districts. Further heavy rainfall remains possible in coastal Andhra on November 4.
