Ongole, Nov 3: Severe cyclonic storm Murasu crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of Tuesday, bringing heavy rain and gale-force winds to coastal districts before beginning to weaken as it moved inland, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The storm crossed the coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole in Prakasam district, between 3.30 am and 5.30 am on November 3, with sustained wind speeds of 100 to 110 kilometres per hour and gusts reaching 120 kilometres per hour. By 5.30 am, the system was centred over south coastal Andhra Pradesh, near Ongole, about 40 kilometres southwest of Bapatla and 120 kilometres west-southwest of Machilipatnam, according to the IMD.
The landfall marked the end of a rapid journey across the Bay of Bengal. The low-pressure area that eventually became Murasu first formed over the southern Andaman Sea and nearby waters on October 29. Within four days it had strengthened into a severe cyclonic storm and was approaching the Andhra Pradesh coast, a pace that weather officials noted with particular attention.
Rapidly moving cyclones often have less time to intensify before reaching land, but they can still arrive with damaging winds and heavy rain, and Murasu was no exception.
In the days before landfall, the IMD tracked the storm closely through a network of Doppler weather radars at Chennai, Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam. Its bulletins gave coastal residents and officials a steadily narrowing window for the crossing. At 2.30 pm on November 2, the storm was centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 100 kilometres east of Nellore, 120 kilometres southeast of Kavali and 160 kilometres southeast of Ongole.
Earlier that morning, at 8.30 am, it had been about 160 kilometres east-southeast of Nellore and 180 kilometres northeast of Chennai. Through the preceding day it had moved northwestwards at speeds that varied between 20 and 27 kilometres per hour, slowing to about 10 kilometres per hour in the six hours before 2.30 pm on November 2.
That slowing, close to the coast, did not reduce the warning. The IMD forecast storm surges of one to one and a half metres that could flood low-lying coastal areas during landfall. Its projections singled out the stretches most at risk: seawater could reach up to 330 metres inland in Ongole mandal and up to 190 metres inland in Bapatla mandal, with Bapatla, Prakasam and Krishna districts facing the highest surges.
For families living close to the shore, in fishing hamlets and low-lying settlements, such figures are not abstractions. A surge of more than a metre can push seawater into homes, damage stored grain and fishing equipment, and cut off roads for hours.
The storm arrived only days after another system had battered the same coastline. The very severe cyclonic storm Arnab had made landfall further north along the coast on October 28, and southern Odisha had faced devastating floods in its wake, with homes damaged, roads broken and electricity poles toppled. Reports linked to Arnab described four deaths and around a dozen people missing after landslides, with rescue teams using radar technology to search for survivors.
Coming so soon afterwards, Murasu tested an administration and a population that had barely had time to recover, and it underlined how a single coastline can face repeated blows within one season.
Ahead of Murasu, authorities in Andhra Pradesh stepped up preparedness. Precautionary evacuations were begun across five districts, orange rainfall warnings were issued, and fishermen were barred from venturing into rough seas until November 4.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had directed officials on Sunday to remain prepared for relief and rescue operations, a direction that set in motion the familiar machinery of cyclone response: control rooms, shelter arrangements, stockpiles of food and drinking water, and teams ready to restore power and clear roads.
Preliminary estimates circulated before landfall suggested that strong winds could damage around 15,128 electricity poles across 12 districts, a reminder that the damage from a cyclone is often measured first in darkness. When poles fall and lines snap, whole blocks lose power, mobile networks weaken, and pumping stations stop.
Restoring electricity therefore becomes one of the first tasks after the wind drops, alongside clearing fallen trees from roads so that ambulances and relief vehicles can move.
Tamil Nadu and Odisha also watched the storm closely. Tamil Nadu issued rainfall warnings as the system approached, while Odisha, still dealing with the aftermath of Arnab, kept its own preparedness in place. The IMD forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana on November 2 and 3, over Tamil Nadu on November 1 and 2, and over Chhattisgarh and south Odisha on November 3 and 4.
Isolated extremely heavy rainfall was also expected over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on November 2 and 3, and over Telangana on November 3.
After landfall, the IMD expected Murasu to weaken gradually. Its forecast said the system would move north-northwestwards and weaken into a cyclonic storm, with wind speeds of 80 to 90 kilometres per hour gusting to 100 kilometres per hour, by noon on Tuesday, and further into a deep depression, with winds of 55 to 65 kilometres per hour gusting to 75 kilometres per hour, by midnight.
Heavy spells of rainfall were expected to continue for the next 12 hours across south coastal Andhra Pradesh even as the winds eased, and the system was then expected to move towards Telangana as a depression.
That pattern, weakening wind but continuing rain, is one of the most dangerous phases of a cyclone's life inland. Rivers and drains that coped with the first hours of rain can overflow later, low-lying fields can stay waterlogged, and saturated soil can give way on slopes.
Officials therefore tend to keep warnings in place well after the headline wind speeds have fallen, and residents are advised to stay away from flooded roads, swollen streams and damaged structures until local authorities give the all-clear.
For Andhra Pradesh's coastal districts, cyclones are a recurring test of planning. The Bay of Bengal's cyclone season peaks in the months around October and November, when warm sea-surface temperatures and favourable atmospheric conditions allow disturbances to organise and strengthen. Naming, tracking and forecasting have improved dramatically over the past two decades, and with them the ability to move people out of harm's way before landfall.
The toll of recent cyclones in India has fallen sharply compared with the catastrophic losses of earlier decades, largely because warnings reach villages faster and evacuation has become routine rather than exceptional.
Yet each storm still brings its own difficulties. A surge that reaches hundreds of metres inland can ruin a season's stored harvest. Salt water left standing in fields can damage the next crop.
Fishing boats dragged ashore or damaged at anchor can take weeks to repair, and for families that depend on a daily catch, that is a direct loss of income. The true cost of Murasu, therefore, will only become clear in the coming days, as district administrations complete their damage assessments and as farmers, fishermen and small traders take stock of what the wind and water have taken.
For now, the immediate priority is safety and restoration: keeping people away from the sea until conditions normalise, restoring power and road links, and ensuring that relief reaches those who were evacuated. The IMD's bulletins will continue to track the weakening system as it moves inland, and state governments in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and neighbouring states will watch its rainfall closely.
Murasu's crossing near Ongole is over, but its passage through the interior, as rain rather than wind, is the chapter that will determine how quickly normal life returns to the coast.
(Reporting based on The Hindu and Down To Earth.)