A satellite image of Cyclone Murasu over the Bay of Bengal on Sunday. IMD
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Cyclone Murasu is headed for the Andhra Pradesh coast barely a week after Arnab battered it. The storm is likely to cross the south coast between Nellore and Narsapur on the night of November 2-3 as a severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday (November 1, 2026). Winds of 100 to 110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, are expected at landfall.
The deep depression that formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal early on Sunday strengthened into cyclonic storm Murasu later in the day, the IMD in Amaravati said. The name comes from India’s list and means war drum in Tamil.
According to observations made by the IMD at 11.30 a.m., the storm was moving west-northwestwards towards the Andhra Pradesh coast. It lay centred over the southwest and west-central Bay of Bengal, about 560 km east-southeast of Chennai, 660 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 630 km east-southeast of Nellore, 640 km southeast of Machilipatnam and 680 km east-southeast of Ongole.
The cyclonic storm may continue to move west-northwestwards and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by Monday (November 2) morning. According to initial estimates, it is expected to make landfall near Bapatla between 11.30 p.m. on November 2 and 4 a.m. on November 3. Weather experts are monitoring the storm’s movement, since the landfall point may change later.
Wind speed may touch 120 kmph near the landfall point. When Cyclone Arnab (a very severe cyclonic storm) crossed the coast near Narsapur in West Godavari district on October 28, winds gusted up to 150 kmph.
Second storm in a week
The State has barely begun to recover from Arnab, a storm that killed five people and submerged crops on more than 3.5 lakh hectares. It also damaged about 2,425 km of roads and brought down some 15,000 electric poles. The state government puts its losses at ₹4,600 crore, and officials now have little time to prepare for the next one.
Red alert in five districts
Arnab hit the northern parts of Andhra Pradesh hardest. This time, central and south coastal Andhra Pradesh are likely to bear the brunt. A red alert for November 2 is in place for the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam and SPSR Nellore, where extremely heavy rain is likely.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rain over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana on November 2 and 3. Extremely heavy rain is likely at isolated places in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam. Gusty winds of 80 to 90 kmph are expected along the coast on both days.
Since the system is likely to move towards Telangana after landfall, the districts bordering that State have been put on red alert for November 3.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has cancelled his visit to Delhi on Monday in view of the cyclone, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a post on X.
Published – November 01, 2026 05:25 pm IST
