Days after Cyclone Arnab, Andhra Pradesh braces for cyclonic storm Murasu to make landfall

Barely a week after being hit by the very severe cyclonic storm Arnab, the Andhra Pradesh coast is bracing for cyclonic storm Murasu, with five districts on red alert.

On Sunday (November 1, 2026) afternoon, the storm moved about 480 km east-southeast of Chennai, 550 km east-southeast of Nellore, 560 km southeast of Machilipatnam, 600 km southeast of Ongole and 610 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam. It is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rain in parts of Tiruvallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet and Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu.

The storm is expected to move west-northwest and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm around Monday (November 2) morning. Between Monday night and Tuesday morning, it is likely to cross the south coast of Andhra Pradesh with wind speed of 100 to 120 kmph between Nellore and Narsapur.

Odisha, which experienced several landslides during Cyclone Arnab, is also bracing for the impact of Murasu, with authorities saying the southern coastal areas of the state are likely to experience heavy rainfall.

Red alert in Andhra Pradesh

While last week it was the northern part of Andhra Pradesh, this time the central and southern coastal parts of the state are likely to be affected, according to the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA). Officials have identified 20 mandals that could experience extremely heavy rainfall, including nine mandals in Eluru district, five each in Krishna and NTR districts and one in Bapatla district. A large number of electric poles in 12 districts are expected to be damaged.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has put five districts in the state – SPSR Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Bapatla and Krishna – on red alert for November 2. These five districts are expected to witness isolated heavy rain on Monday. An orange alert was issued for seven other districts.

A warning has been issued for coastal areas between West Godavari and SPSR Nellore as winds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph may prevail from Monday evening. When Cyclone Arnab crossed the coast near Narsapur in West Godavari district on October 28, it had gusty winds of 150 kmph.

Cyclonic storm Murasu comes at a time when Andhra Pradesh is just beginning to recover from the impact of Cyclone Arnab, a storm that killed five people and submerged crops in over 3.5 lakh hectares of land. It also damaged about 2,425 km of roads and brought down about 15,000 power poles. The state government has pegged its losses at ₹ 4,600 crore and officials now have little time to prepare for the next storm.

Impact reinforcement

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu canceled his visit to Delhi on Monday (November 2) due to the cyclone, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a post on X. As many as 1,688 medical teams and 116 relief camps have been set up in the districts likely to be hit by the latest cyclone. The Health Department has also made available 13,165 emergency beds, essential medicines and 43,672 snake venom injections.

The chief minister held a review meeting and directed officials to increase preparedness to deal with the possible impact of the storm. He instructed the authorities to mobilize adequate manpower and equipment ahead of time to ensure speedy restoration of essential services.

He also directed officials to issue updates on the cyclone situation every four hours and asked telecom service providers to take precautionary measures to maintain uninterrupted mobile connectivity during the storm.

Tamil Nadu and Odisha

In Tamil Nadu, heavy to very heavy rain is likely at isolated places over Chennai and Tiruvallur districts for 24 hours from 8.30 am on Monday. The rain could be accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, with gusty winds of 40-50 km/h in some places.

Heavy rain is also likely at isolated places, with thunder and lightning, over Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Vellore and Nilgiris districts. Light to moderate rain, with thunder and lightning at some places, was forecast over the rest of North Tamil Nadu and Western Ghat districts as well as Puducherry and Karaikal region.

Heavy rain with thunder and lightning was forecast at isolated places in Nilgiris district on Tuesday (November 3). Light rain is likely to occur at isolated places over North Tamil Nadu and Western Ghats, Puducherry and Karaikal districts. Light to moderate rains are likely at a few places over the rest of the state.

In Odisha, the state government has identified 150 landslide-prone spots in Gajapati district alone ahead of cyclonic storm Murasu. During Cyclone Arnab, five people were killed in separate landslides and 10 others remained missing in the state.

Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil warned at a press conference that the situation could worsen as the soil is already saturated and heavy rain is forecast in southern Odisha under the influence of Murasu. “We have directed district collectors to evacuate people from vulnerable areas,” he said.

(With inputs from Deepa Ramakrishnan in Chennai and Satyasundar Barik in Bhubaneswar)

Published – 01 Nov 2026 21:28 IST