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Cyclone Murasu to cross south Andhra coast around midnight: red alert out, NDRF teams deployed
Cyclonic Storm Murasu is forecast to become a severe cyclonic storm on Monday and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur from about 11:30 pm on 2 November to 4 am on 3 November, with winds of 100 to 110 km/h. A red alert is out for coastal Andhra; Odisha is on alert.
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Cyclonic Storm Murasu is expected to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast late tonight, and the India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for the coastal districts. The department's bulletin on Sunday, 1 November, said the system will become a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal on Monday morning and make landfall between Nellore and Narsapur between about 11:30 pm on 2 November and 4 am on 3 November. Winds at landfall are forecast at 100 to 110 km/h, gusting to 120 km/h.
Where the storm is and where it is going
A deep depression strengthened into a cyclonic storm and was named Murasu on Sunday. At 11:30 am it was moving west-northwest at about 23 km/h and lay roughly 560 km east-southeast of Chennai, 630 km east-southeast of Nellore, 640 km south-east of Machilipatnam and 660 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam. It is forecast to turn northwest after intensifying.
One report describes the storm crossing the coast as a very severe cyclonic storm, while the department's own bulletin speaks of a severe cyclonic storm. Squally winds gusting to 100 km/h are expected along the coast on 2 and 3 November.
Alerts and rainfall
A red alert has been issued for extremely heavy rain in coastal Andhra Pradesh on Monday, with Krishna, Guntur and Bapatla districts named for the heaviest falls. An orange alert covers Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal and Telangana. Heavy rain is also likely in parts of Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Odisha and south interior Karnataka over the next two days.
Fishermen have been advised not to go to sea from 2 to 4 November, and those in the south-east Bay of Bengal have been warned to stay out until Monday.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the arrangements and ordered coordinated rescue and relief. Six National Disaster Response Force teams and seven State Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed, emergency control rooms are working, and residents of vulnerable areas are being moved to shelters. The helplines are 112 and 1070.
The state is still recovering from Cyclone Arnab, which crossed near Narsapur on 28 October with winds of 125 to 135 km/h, gusting to 150 km/h. It killed seven people and damaged crops, roads, power lines and telecom networks. Preliminary losses are estimated at Rs 4,600 crore, and a Central team is assessing the damage.
Rain is expected in Odisha from Monday, with heavy to very heavy showers in the southern districts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri have been marked for special attention. Vulnerable locations have been identified and precautionary evacuations have begun. Nabarangpur has cancelled the leave of government employees until 5 November. At the Balimela reservoir, one radial gate and two sluice gates were opened to release about 6,000 cusecs.
Residents in the landfall zone are being asked to stay indoors during the crossing and to follow instructions from district officials.
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