Cyclone Murasu Forces Mass Evacuations on India's Coast

Cyclone Murasu began making landfall near Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, at 1 a.m. Tuesday, bringing winds of 110 to 120 kmph as authorities planned to move about 30,000 people to safety. The storm threatens homes, crops and fishing livelihoods; state officials and emergency agencies must decide where people can go and how to coordinate relief.

“This is the most dangerous cyclone we have witnessed in the last 14 years,” said Krishnamma, a fisherman from Kothapatnam in Prakasam district. He said the government had evacuated around 400 families from his village and National Disaster Response Force teams helped move people to safer places. He still had to find out what condition his boats were in.

People in the Storm’s Path

At 5:30 a.m., the India Meteorological Department said landfall would take another two hours to complete. Murasu had moved at 9 kmph over the previous six hours and was centred 20 km from Ongole. The department warned a storm surge could inundate low-lying areas of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh, with the peak surge expected over Bapatla and the Krishna and Prakasam districts.

Heavy rain was forecast over the next 12 hours in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh, as well as West Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, Markapuram, Prakasam and Nellore districts. In coastal Andhra Pradesh, the storm uprooted thousands of trees, damaged hundreds of electric poles and wrecked fishing boats. Heavy rain and gusty winds damaged standing crops in Bapatla and Prakasam districts, leaving many places under water.

Several thatched houses collapsed in Samatha Nagar in Ongole, stranding residents. The district administration began rescue operations to evacuate them. Floodwater also entered houses in Beeramgunta village in Kothapatnam mandal. The immediate costs are clear: homes, crops and boats face a storm that doesn’t wait for official briefings.

In Vijayawada, rain began late Monday night and continued into Tuesday morning, waterlogging Bandar Road, Polyclinic Road and areas in One Town. A large tree fell onto the statue of Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu at Prakasam Bhavan, on the Prakasam district Collectorate premises in Ongole, and brought it down.

Orders, Warnings and Relief

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation with district Collectors and officials at 3:30 a.m. He directed them to keep people in affected areas off the roads and take precautions to prevent deaths and minimise property damage. Energy department officials told him no electricity poles had fallen and no power disruptions had occurred.

NTR Police Commissioner S. V. Rajasekhar Babu warned people living on hillocks and along the Krishna river bund in Vijayawada. NTR District Collector Lakshmi Sha urged residents to stay indoors unless necessary. She said some families had moved to relief camps as a precaution against possible landslides in Mogalrajapuram. She asked shops and shopping complexes to close Tuesday and urged parents to keep children indoors. Eluru District Collector K. Vetri Selvi declared a holiday Tuesday for schools, colleges and Anganwadi Centres because of persistent rain and a flash-flood warning. Cuddalore District Collector also announced a school holiday for Nov. 3 because of heavy rain.

The Andhra Pradesh government’s Real Time Governance Society introduced a cyclone grievance service through its Mana Mitra WhatsApp Governance platform. Residents could report power outages, uprooted trees, collapsed walls and waterlogging by messaging 9552300009 and selecting the cyclone issue reporting options. The official release said the service would connect residents directly with the administration for response and coordination. Reports go to the administration; the source doesn’t describe any independent community relief network.

Two Storms, More Official Coordination

Murasu was the second storm to hit the region in a week. At least six people were killed when Cyclone Arnab made landfall in Andhra Pradesh on the preceding Wednesday. The India Meteorological Department forecast that Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu would be worst hit by Murasu.

Odisha’s southern districts reported light rain as the cyclone crossed into neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The Odisha government had moved more than 1.60 lakh people to safety and deployed disaster-response teams in five southern districts ahead of forecast heavy rain and gusty winds. Odisha Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said people in hilly areas would remain in shelters for a time, depending on conditions.

Naidu said district Collectors were arranging to count votes in local body elections alongside cyclone relief operations. He also asked the central government for assistance to help Andhra Pradesh recover from the back-to-back cyclones, after Union Home Minister Amit Shah called him about the storm’s impact, damage and relief work. Naidu thanked the Centre for sending a team to assess damage on the ground. Relief, vote-counting arrangements and requests for outside assistance all pass through the same official chain, while residents wait to learn what remains of their homes and livelihoods.