StatesAndhra Pradesh
Naidu calls off Delhi trip as Cyclone Murasu heads for south Andhra coast
The chief minister reviewed preparations late on Sunday as the new storm gathered strength in the Bay of Bengal, barely five days after Cyclone Arnab battered the state.
Key points
- Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu cancelled his Delhi visit planned for Monday to stay on top of the cyclone response.
- Murasu is expected to cross the coast between Nellore and Narsapur around midnight on Monday.
- Officials warn of extremely heavy rain in 20 mandals across Eluru, Krishna, NTR and Bapatla districts.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has called off a visit to Delhi planned for Monday as Cyclone Murasu gathered strength over the Bay of Bengal, less than a week after Cyclone Arnab tore through the state’s coast.
Naidu met senior officials on Sunday to go over the storm’s likely path, the rainfall and wind forecasts and the levels in the state’s reservoirs, and reviewed the precautions being taken in the districts that lie in its way. The looming cyclone was given as the reason for staying back in Amaravati.
A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm on Sunday and was named Murasu. It is expected to become a severe cyclonic storm by Monday morning over the west-central Bay of Bengal.
Where it will hit
The storm is forecast to cross the south Andhra coast between Nellore and Narsapur around midnight on Monday or in the early hours of Tuesday, with winds of 100 to 110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h. The India Meteorological Department put out a cyclone alert on Sunday for the Andhra Pradesh coast and the adjoining north Tamil Nadu coast.
Rain is expected to set in before the storm arrives. The forecast is for moderate to heavy rain with isolated very heavy falls across the southern and central coastal districts on Monday, and heavy to very heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Officials told the review that 20 mandals could see extremely heavy rain: nine in Eluru, five each in Krishna and NTR districts and one in Bapatla. Eluru is projected to average about 179 mm of rain on Tuesday alone.
Rivers, poles and the Arnab clean-up
The Budameru rivulet near Vijayawada could receive an inflow of about 32,500 cusecs on Tuesday, officials said, and the Errakalva, Gonelavagu, Jalleru and Pampa streams may also flood.
Strong winds could bring down between 12,102 and 15,128 electricity poles across 12 districts, according to the estimates placed before the chief minister.
That warning comes while the state is still clearing up after Arnab, which made landfall on 28 October. Naidu asked about the restoration of power in the areas it hit, and officials said supply would be back everywhere by Sunday night.
The government is expected to step up evacuations and alerts in the coastal districts through Monday as the storm closes in.