Cyclonic Storm Murasu intensifies into severe cyclonic storm
The storm is expected to make landfall near Ongole between late November 2 and early November 3.
Cyclonic Storm Murasu intensified into a Severe Cyclonic Storm over the West Central and Southwest Bay of Bengal in the early hours of Monday, November 2, according to The Hindu. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) observed the storm at 2:30 a.m. centered over the region, approximately 260 km east-northeast of Chennai.
The system is expected to move northwestwards and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast near Ongole between 11:30 pm on November 2 and 4:00 am on November 3. At the time of landfall, wind speeds are expected to be between 100 and 110 kmph, gusting up to 120 kmph.
The IMD has issued a red alert for November 2 for Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam, and SPSR Nellore districts. An orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued for Monday in East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Palnadu, Tirupati, and Chittoor.
In Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi chaired a review meeting to assess preparedness. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu cancelled a scheduled visit to Delhi on Monday due to the cyclone threat.
The storm is predicted to trigger heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, and Telangana on November 2 and 3.