Murasu Turns Severe, Heavy Rain Alert for Andhra and Telangana

The cyclonic storm Murasu has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal and is now heading towards the Andhra Pradesh coast. The storm follows the earlier system Arnab and is expected to bring strong winds and widespread rain to several states in the region.

The India Meteorological Department has said the storm is moving north-west at around 20 km per hour. Its current position is near 13.6 degrees North latitude and 82.5 degrees East longitude, as of 2:30 am on Monday.

The storm is about 260 km east-northeast of Chennai, 290 km east-southeast of Nellore, 320 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam, 310 km east-southeast of Kavali, 330 km south-southeast of Ongole and 470 km south of Visakhapatnam.

Meteorologists believe Murasu will cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast, near Ongole between Nellore and Narsapur, between 11:30 pm on November 2 and 4:00 am on November 3. The storm is expected to remain a severe cyclonic storm at that stage.

Wind speeds are likely to range between 100 and 110 km per hour, with occasional gusts reaching 120 km per hour. Such winds can damage weak structures and disrupt power and transport services in affected areas.

Rainfall is the other major concern. Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rain on November 2 and 3, while Tamil Nadu may see the same on November 1 and 2. Chhattisgarh and south Odisha are expected to witness heavy to very heavy rain on November 3 and 4. Extremely heavy rain may fall in isolated pockets of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on November 2 and 3, and in Telangana on November 3.