Cyclone Murasu approaches AP coast, heavy rain warning issued

The Andhra Pradesh government has issued an alert in five districts – Bapatla, Palnadu, Markapuram, SPSR Nellore and Prakasam – as severe cyclonic storm Murasu remained on land between Ongole and Nellore during the night of November 2-3.

The storm is expected to bring very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall to these districts, which reported rain deficit during the monsoon.

Follow | Cyclone Murasu Live Update: Cyclone Murasu is expected between Nellore and Narsapur in Andhra Pradesh this evening

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the storm was likely to move with “wind speeds of 100 to 110 km/h (and) between Nellore and Narasapur gusting to 120 km/h”.

Following Marasu, northern districts of Tamil Nadu bordering Andhra Pradesh received heavy rain since Sunday evening and some parts of north Chennai reported waterlogging.

In Odisha, where rain caused by Cyclone Arnab caused widespread damage last week, the government evacuated 1.6 million people in Ganjam, Gajapati, Malkangiri, Koraput and Kandhamal districts.

The IMD said the storm was located about 80 km east-northeast of Nellore, 80 km east-southeast of Kavali, 110 km southeast of Ongole, 140 km south of Bapatla, 170 km south-southwest of Machilipatnam, 170 km northeast of Tirupati and 170 km northeast of Tirupati and 110 km northeast of to Channathakki.

The system is moving towards the coast at a speed of 12 km/h and gales of 70-90 km/h with gusts of up to 100 km/h were reported along the Andhra Pradesh coast. A sharp intensification of the storm is expected in coastal areas north of the point of landfall, the IMD said.

The IMD, Amaravati, issued a red alert for Palnadu, Tirupati and Nandyal districts on Tuesday and an orange alert for 12 districts.

In Chennai, as the outer bands of the cyclone brushed the north coast of Tamil Nadu, the Regional Meteorological Center on Monday (November 2, 2026) updated the weather warnings for northern areas like Chennai and Tiruvallur. It warned of gusty winds with gusts of up to 75 kmph for various northern areas, including Chennai and Kancheepuram, till Tuesday (November 3) morning.

Even as the system moved closer to the coast, there was no major rainfall over the Central, South Coast and Rayalaseema areas till 7:00 pm on Monday (November 2). However, North Andhra, where no alert was issued, recorded light to moderate showers.

The impact of Murasu is expected to be less severe than that of Arnab, a very strong cyclonic storm, and the state is focusing on efficient water management.

As 8,000 electric poles are likely to be affected, 31,000 electric poles have been sent from Srikakulam to Krishna district. In addition, 1,000 workers are expected to arrive from Chennai to help restore power.

The 10th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force has deployed 14 teams across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to coordinate with local officials and undertake emergency response and rescue operations.

(With inputs from Satyasundar Barik in Bhubaneswar and K. Lakshmi in Chennai)

Published – 02 Nov 2026 22:18 IST