Andhra Pradesh Braces for Second Cyclone in a Week, 30,000 to Be Evacuated

Cyclone Murasu is bearing down on the coast of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. The same coastal region is facing a new storm before it has recovered from a deadly cyclone last week, and authorities have begun evacuating residents from low-lying coastal areas ahead of the landfall.

Prakhar Jain, managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, told the Reuters news agency that about 2,000 people had been evacuated by Monday. He said the plan was to evacuate some 30,000 people in total.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the cyclone was likely to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, near the town of Ongole, from 11:30pm on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

According to the IMD forecast, Murasu will cross the coast as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of around 100 to 110 kilometres per hour, with gusts reaching 120 kilometres per hour.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to prepare for the cyclone. He said estimates suggested that 6,000 to 8,000 electrical poles could be damaged, posing a severe threat to the power supply.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan wrote on X that the cyclone was set to have a severe impact on the Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla and Krishna districts.

Jain told the IANS news agency that six National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and seven State Disaster Response Force teams had been deployed in advance. The ANI news agency reported that three of the NDRF teams were sent from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

In Nellore district, Collector Himanshu Shukla urged fishermen not to go to sea and ordered officials in coastal areas to remain at their posts.

Schools have been closed in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha because of the storm. According to ETV Bharat, rain is expected to continue over parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh until Wednesday even as the storm weakens.

Murasu is expected to be less intense than Cyclone Arnab, which struck the same coastline on Wednesday, killing six people and destroying dozens of homes and crops.