Daily Current Affairs & Trending Topics — Explained Simply
Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu is expected to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, between 11:30 pm on Monday, 2 November 2026, and 4:00 am on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The storm is forecast to make landfall as a severe cyclonic storm, with sustained wind speeds of 100 to 110 kilometres per hour and gusts reaching up to 120 kilometres per hour. At the time of writing, on the evening of 2 November, landfall had not yet begun, so the timings and intensities below are the IMD's forecast, not a report of landfall already completed.
Murasu intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal during the early hours of 2 November. In its afternoon bulletin, the IMD placed the system at 2:30 pm on 2 November about 100 kilometres east of Nellore, 120 kilometres southeast of Kavali and 160 kilometres southeast of Ongole in Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in the morning, at 5:30 am, it had been centred about 200 kilometres east-northeast of Chennai and 260 kilometres southeast of Ongole, moving west-northwestwards at roughly 25 kilometres per hour. The steady northwestward track is what has put the south Andhra coast, rather than Tamil Nadu or Odisha, directly in the storm's path.
A cyclone's landfall is not a single moment but a process lasting several hours, during which the storm's centre crosses the coast and the strongest winds, heaviest rain and highest seas arrive together. For Murasu, that process is expected to run through the middle of the night, which makes official warnings especially important: people may be asleep when conditions deteriorate, and travelling during the landfall hours would be dangerous.
The IMD is monitoring the storm continuously with Doppler weather radars at Chennai, Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam. After crossing the coast, Murasu is expected to weaken into a depression and move northwestwards towards Telangana, but heavy rain is likely to continue well beyond the landfall itself, with very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall possible over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema through 2 and 3 November, and further rain over Telangana as the weakened system moves inland.
Alongside wind and rain, the IMD has warned of a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 metres above the normal astronomical tide at the time of landfall. A surge of this height can inundate low-lying coastal areas, damage kuchha houses, breach embankments and flood roads near the shore.
The greatest inland flooding from the surge is projected in Ongole mandal, where seawater could reach up to 330 metres inland, followed by Bapatla mandal, where inundation could extend up to 190 metres, according to the IMD's assessment reported on 2 November. Residents of low-lying coastal villages in Prakasam, Bapatla, Nellore, Krishna and Guntur districts should therefore follow evacuation or relocation advice from district authorities rather than waiting to judge the water level themselves.
Red alerts on 2 November covered the coastal Andhra districts of Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam and Nellore, with extremely heavy rain a risk in parts of these districts. Heavy rainfall was also forecast in isolated parts of southern Odisha, with gusty winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour in parts of Ganjam and Gajapati, and the IMD issued an orange alert for six districts and a yellow alert for five districts in Telangana as the storm approached the coast.
In Tamil Nadu, heavy rain triggered waterlogging in parts of Chennai and neighbouring districts on Monday, schools in Chennai were closed and some flights were cancelled because of the adverse weather, and the IMD issued an orange alert for the city. More than 20 flights were reported cancelled as the storm neared the coast. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the southwest Bay of Bengal until the morning of 4 November, and local cautionary signals have been hoisted at ports including Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam, Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam and Vadarevu.
Andhra Pradesh has activated its disaster response machinery, with 12 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) positioned for rescue and road-clearance work, and equipment such as JCBs, excavators and cranes kept ready for clearing blocked highways. Helplines in operation include 112, 1070 and 1800-425-0101, along with the State Emergency Operations Centre numbers. Anyone in doubt about whether to move should call these numbers or contact their district administration rather than relying on social media forwards.
Murasu arrives barely days after Cyclone Arnab battered parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in late October 2026. Arnab was the stronger storm at landfall, crossing the coast with sustained winds of 125 to 135 kilometres per hour and gusts up to 150 kilometres per hour, compared with Murasu's forecast 100 to 110 kilometres per hour gusting to 120. That comparison should not be read as reassurance: a severe cyclonic storm of Murasu's strength can still uproot trees and electricity poles, damage vulnerable structures, disrupt power and transport, and cause serious flooding through rain and surge combined. The back-to-back timing also matters, because ground already saturated by Arnab's rain is more prone to waterlogging and because response teams have had little rest between the two systems.
For the wider context of Arnab's landfall, see how that storm crossed the Andhra coast: https://indiaask.tech/question.php?slug=cyclone-arnab-andhra-yanam-landfall-october-28-explained — and for the earlier forecast that first flagged a second system forming behind Arnab, see: https://indiaask.tech/question.php?slug=another-cyclone-andhra-coast-after-arnab-murasu-explained
First, stay indoors during the landfall window from late Monday night into early Tuesday morning, and keep away from windows, balconies and tin or asbestos roofs. Second, charge phones and torches in advance, keep drinking water, medicines and important documents in a waterproof bag, and store enough food for at least a day in case power and shops are disrupted. Third, do not attempt to cross flooded roads, causeways or underpasses, since water depth and current are hard to judge at night. Fourth, if your home is in a low-lying coastal area or a structure that authorities have flagged as vulnerable, move to the shelter or safe location advised by local officials before conditions worsen, not after. Finally, follow only official updates from the IMD and the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, and ignore unverified videos or messages claiming a changed landfall place or time.
Once Murasu crosses the coast, its winds will gradually decrease, but that does not mean the danger ends at 4 am. The system's rain bands will continue to move inland, Telangana and interior Andhra Pradesh can expect heavy rain on 3 and 4 November, and rivers and drains swollen by the rain may flood hours after the wind has eased. Power restoration, road clearance and damage assessment typically take a day or more, and fishermen must wait for the all-clear before returning to sea. The full picture of damage will only emerge after daylight surveys on 3 November, and this article's forecast figures should be read alongside the IMD's later bulletins for the confirmed landfall time, place and peak wind.
Cyclone Murasu's expected landfall near Ongole between 11:30 pm on 2 November and 4:00 am on 3 November 2026 is the most consequential weather event of the night for south coastal Andhra Pradesh. With winds gusting to 120 kilometres per hour, a storm surge of up to 1.5 metres and extremely heavy rain in several districts, the storm demands exactly the response the authorities have asked for: stay indoors, stay away from the sea and flooded roads, and follow official alerts until the system has weakened and moved inland. The forecast may still shift by a few hours or kilometres, but the message for tonight is unchanged — treat this severe cyclonic storm seriously, and do not wait for the worst weather to arrive before acting.
Sources verified for this article include the IMD bulletins as reported by Down To Earth (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/cyclone-murasu-races-across-bay-of-bengal-imd-warns-of-storm-surges-up-to-15-metres) and India TV (https://www.indiatvnews.com/amp/news/india/cyclone-murasu-intensifies-into-severe-cyclonic-storm-andhra-pradesh-tamil-nadu-and-odisha-on-high-alert-landfall-likely-by-early-november-3-2026-11-02-1058461), with additional detail from the Millennium Post's 2 November report on the storm's approach and flight cancellations.
Cyclone Murasu is expected to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, between 11:30 pm on 2 November 2026 and 4:00 am on 3 November 2026, according to the IMD.
The IMD forecasts sustained winds of 100 to 110 kilometres per hour, with gusts reaching up to 120 kilometres per hour, as Murasu crosses the coast as a severe cyclonic storm.
The IMD has warned of a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 metres above the normal tide at landfall, which could inundate low-lying coastal areas. Seawater could reach up to 330 metres inland in Ongole mandal and up to 190 metres inland in Bapatla mandal.
Red alerts cover the coastal Andhra districts of Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam and Nellore. Heavy rain is also expected in parts of southern Odisha and Telangana as the system moves inland, and Chennai saw waterlogging and school closures on 2 November.
Delhi's pollution rules November 1 change daily life for lakhs of commuters, drivers, office-goers and builders across the National Capital Region. From Sunday, 1 November 2026, a set of winter pollution controls comes i…
No approved answers yet — you can give the first answer.
No approved comments yet.