समाचार Samāchār · India · 2 November 2026

Cyclone Murasu is due on the Andhra coast tonight, a week after Arnab

IMD expects landfall near Ongole between about 23:30 tonight and 04:00 Tuesday, with winds of 100–110 kmph. Andhra Pradesh is moving people out of low-lying areas. Power and phone lines are the next test.

A second cyclone in about a week is closing on coastal Andhra Pradesh. The India Meteorological Department expects Murasu to cross between Nellore and Narsapur, near Ongole, between about 23:30 tonight and 04:00 on Tuesday. Winds are forecast at 100–110 kmph with gusts to 120. A storm surge of 1–1.5 metres above the tide is expected, with the highest impact in Bapatla, Guntur, Krishna and Prakasam. Reuters reports the storm is forecast to be less intense than Arnab.

The state is moving early. Prakhar Jain, managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters about 2,000 people have been evacuated and 30,000 more may follow. Six NDRF and seven SDRF teams are on standby. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu cancelled his Delhi visit and ordered bulletins every four hours. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan asked that people in low-lying areas be moved to safety and kept away from canals and streams.

The weather has already reached further. Schools and colleges are shut in Chennai and Tiruvallur. Chennai airport cancelled 11 flights as a precaution and IndiGo cancelled 10 at Vijayawada. In Odisha, Malkangiri has closed schools until 4 November and Rayagada has deployed all 11 fire station teams with heavy machinery to keep NH 326 open.

Recovery is the part to watch. The state’s preliminary estimates put thousands of electricity poles at risk across 12 districts, and telecom operators have been told to take precautions. IMD scientist S Karuna Sagar warned of significant crop damage and possible road and rail disruption. Odisha is still counting Arnab: six dead, 10 missing and 75,388 hectares of crops damaged, according to Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil. A central team began its assessment there today.

What a founder takes from it: Moving people early is the part the Indian state has learned, and it deserves credit. The next measure is how fast power, phones and roads return. Businesses on the east coast should plan for two storms in a season, not one.