Cyclone Murasu heads for Andhra coast near Ongole; schools shut in Chennai

Cyclonic storm Murasu, formed in the Bay of Bengal, is moving rapidly towards the Andhra Pradesh coast. The weather department said it could make landfall near Ongole between 11.30 pm on Monday (November 2, 2026) and 4 am on Tuesday (November 3, 2026). Wind speed during that period is expected to be 100 to 115 kmph.

This is the second cyclonic storm to form in the Bay of Bengal in just seven days. Cyclone Arnav struck last week. The name Murasu was given by the Government of India and means "war drum" in Tamil.

In Andhra Pradesh, the districts of Bapatla, Krishna, Nellore and Prakasam are feared to be the worst affected. Three teams of 90 NDRF personnel have been deployed at Nellore, Prakasam and Markapuram. As a precaution, 10 flights have been cancelled from Vijayawada airport. High waves are lashing the sea at Mypadu beach in Nellore.

Chennai, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur districts have been receiving heavy rain since Sunday night. Madhavaram in Chennai recorded the highest rainfall, 11 cm in the past 24 hours. Several roads and subways are waterlogged, and the administration has installed pumps to drain the water. Schools have been declared closed as a precaution.

In Odisha, evacuation of people to safer places is under way on a war footing from five districts: Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri. In Rayagada, more than 300 personnel of the NDRF, ODRAF and fire services have been deployed along with 11 fire service teams. In Puri, heavy rain is accompanied by high waves in the sea.

According to the weather department, the possibility cannot be ruled out that Murasu will also have an effect in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Heavy rain is forecast at many places in these states over the next few days.

Earlier, Cyclone Arnav, which struck on October 28, killed 6 people in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. At that time 57,000 people were moved to safer places and 31 houses collapsed. Arnav's effects had barely ended when the threat of Murasu has arisen, and the administrative machinery is on full alert.