StatesAndhra Pradesh
Cyclone Murasu turns severe, set to cross Andhra coast near Ongole tonight
The IMD's overnight bulletin puts the crossing between 11:30 pm on Monday and 4 am on Tuesday, with a storm surge of up to 1.5 metres on the south Andhra coast.
Key points
- Murasu was forecast to become a severe cyclonic storm by about 2:30 am on Monday.
- It is expected to cross the coast close to Ongole between 11:30 pm on Monday and 4 am on Tuesday.
- Red warnings cover Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla, Guntur and Krishna districts for Monday.
Cyclone Murasu was set to strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm in the early hours of Monday as it moved towards the south Andhra Pradesh coast, and is now expected to cross land close to Ongole late tonight.
In its 2 am bulletin, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that at 11:30 pm on Sunday the storm lay about 400 km south-east of Ongole, moving west-northwest at about 23 km/h with winds of 85 to 95 km/h gusting to 110 km/h. It expected the system to become a severe cyclonic storm by about 2:30 am.
Murasu is forecast to cross the coast close to Ongole, between Nellore and Narsapur, between 11:30 pm on Monday and 4 am on Tuesday, with sustained winds of 100 to 110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h.
Surge and red warnings
The IMD has warned of a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 metres above the tide, enough to flood low-lying parts of the south coast. The surge is expected to be highest in Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts. Red warnings for Monday cover Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla, Guntur and Krishna, and fishermen have been told to stay off the sea until Wednesday afternoon. The IMD has asked people living in thatched and kutcha homes on the coast to move to safer places.
Six NDRF and seven SDRF teams are positioned in Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called off a Delhi visit planned for Monday to stay with the response, five days after Cyclone Arnab struck the same coast.
Odisha, still clearing up after Arnab, is moving people out of about 150 landslide-prone places in Gajapati by Monday afternoon. “Ganjam and Kandhamal districts have been affected the most by Cyclone Arnab and resultant floods,” said Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil.