Home / Disasters and Accidents / Cyclone Murasu Slams Andhra Coast with Fury
Cyclone Murasu Slams Andhra Coast with Fury
3 Nov
Summary
- Cyclone Murasu made landfall near Ongole with 120 kmph winds.
- Heavy rains uprooted trees, caused power and communication outages.
- Storm surge is expected to inundate low-lying coastal areas.
The severe cyclonic storm Murasu made landfall between Nellore and Narsapur, near Ongole, in the early hours of Tuesday. With wind speeds reaching 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, the cyclone brought extremely heavy rainfall and caused widespread damage across south coastal Andhra Pradesh. Uprooted trees and electric poles, coupled with power outages and communication disruptions, were reported in Prakasam, Palnadu, Bapatla, and Guntur districts. Roads also sustained damage.
Forecasters predict heavy rainfall over south coastal Andhra Pradesh will persist through Tuesday evening. Kothapatnam in Prakasam district recorded the highest rainfall at 16.4 cm in a 24-hour period. The storm system is expected to move north-northwest and weaken. By Tuesday afternoon, it is likely to become a cyclonic storm with winds of 80-90 kmph, gusting to 100 kmph. By midnight, it should further weaken into a deep depression with winds of 55-65 kmph.
A storm surge of 1.0-1.5 metres above the astronomical tide is anticipated to inundate low-lying areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh in the coming hours, with the maximum impact expected in Bapatla, Krishna, and Prakasam districts. This surge is predicted to decrease to less than 0.5 metres by noon.
