Cyclone Murasu expected to hit Andhra Pradesh coast near Ongole on 2-3 November

Expected landfall

Cyclone Murasu is forecast to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast near Ongole, between Nellore and Narsapur. The landfall window runs from 11:30pm on Monday, 2 November to 4am on Tuesday, 3 November, local time. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects sustained winds of 100 to 110 km/h, with gusts up to 120 km/h, and says the storm should reach the coast as a severe cyclonic storm. The system formed over the Bay of Bengal on Sunday evening Indian Standard Time, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which counts it as the latest named storm of the 2026 Indian Ocean season. IMD projects it to be weaker than Cyclone Arnab, which hit the same region on 28 October.

Evacuations and deployments

Andhra Pradesh authorities have begun moving residents out of low-lying coastal areas. Prakhar Jain, managing director of the state disaster management authority, told Reuters that about 2,000 people had been evacuated by Monday, 2 November.

“We are planning to evacuate some 30,000 people.”

Authorities have placed six units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and seven state response teams on standby, and three of the NDRF units were sent from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the ANI news agency reported. In Nellore district, the collector has asked fishermen to keep off the water and told coastal officials to stay at their posts.

Evacuated by 2 November2,000

Planned evacuation30,000

Evacuated by 2 November

2000 people

Planned evacuation

30000 people

Data from the article text

Power, rain and school closures

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has told officials to prepare and estimates that 6,000 to 8,000 electricity poles could go down, a risk he described as a 'severe threat to power supply'. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan wrote on X that four coastal districts should expect severe effects: Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla and Krishna. Naidu also cancelled a planned trip to Delhi for Monday, 2 November, to focus on storm preparations.

IMD expects light to moderate rain across most of coastal Andhra Pradesh on Monday and Tuesday, 2 and 3 November, with heavy to very heavy showers in places and heavy rain possible on Wednesday, 4 November. Telangana is forecast to see rain from 2 to 4 November, with very heavy showers possible on 3 November. Heavy rain was already falling in Chennai and its suburbs, and schools and colleges in Chennai are closed on Monday, 2 November. Flights at Chennai airport were reportedly cancelled, and ten Andhra Pradesh districts are under high alert. In Odisha, rain is expected from Monday, 2 November, intensifying on Tuesday and continuing until Wednesday, 4 November, while schools in some southern districts stay shut until Tuesday, 3 November.

Arnab's toll and what comes next

Murasu follows Cyclone Arnab, which made landfall on 28 October. Casualty figures for Arnab differ between outlets. BFMTV reports at least three deaths, The Independent reports five deaths in Andhra Pradesh, and Al Jazeera reports six people killed. More than 100,000 coastal residents were moved out before Arnab arrived. The Independent also reports that the Odisha death toll from Arnab and the floods that followed rose to six on Sunday, 1 November, with ten people still missing after a landslide in Gidipabali village.

Fishermen have been told not to sail off the Andhra Pradesh coast from Monday evening, 2 November, until the afternoon of Wednesday, 4 November. Forecasters say the storm's effects are expected to ease after the landfall window closes, with rain in Odisha continuing until Wednesday, 4 November.