Severe Storm Murasu Heads Toward Andhra Pradesh Coast After Rapid Growth

Cyclone Murasu has grown into a powerful severe storm over the Bay of Bengal, prompting widespread precautionary measures and educational closures. The India Meteorological Department reports that the system traveled nearly northwest at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour over the preceding six hours. By early Monday morning, the center of the system sat near latitude 13.6 degrees north and longitude 82.5 degrees east, positioned roughly 260 kilometres east-northeast of Chennai and 330 kilometres southeast of Ongole.

Expected Landfall

Murasu is projected to stay on a northwest path and strike the southern coast of Andhra Pradesh. Forecasters expect the storm to hit between Nellore and Narsapur near the town of Ongole late Monday night or during the early hours of Tuesday. Sustained winds during the crossing are predicted to reach 100 to 110 kilometres per hour, with powerful gusts touching 120 kilometres per hour. This severe weather event arrives just days after Cyclone Arnab previously impacted the same coastal region.

Safety Measures

District authorities in Chennai and Tiruvallur ordered all local schools and colleges to remain shut on Monday in response to heavy rainfall brought by the system. Meanwhile, administrative officials issued an orange alert for six districts across Telangana and a yellow alert for five additional districts in the state for Monday.

Context

Tropical storms of this scale form over warm ocean waters and pose major threats to coastal communities through high winds and torrential rain. Regional meteorological centers manage the systematic naming of these weather systems using pre-approved lists submitted by neighboring nations.