Cyclone Murasu makes landfall on India’s eastern coast

Cyclone Murasu has made landfall on India’s eastern coast, uprooting trees, toppling electricity poles and flooding low-lying areas in Andhra Pradesh. It is the second cyclone to strike the region in a week after Cyclone Arnab.

The severe cyclonic storm came ashore near Ongole in Prakasam district about 1am on Tuesday (19:30 GMT on Monday), according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rain across several districts through the day.

No deaths or injuries have been reported so far, Prakhar Jain, the managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, told the Reuters news agency. He said some trees and electricity poles had been uprooted.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported extensive damage in Prakasam and Bapatla districts, where thousands of trees were felled, hundreds of power poles damaged and fishing boats wrecked. Standing crops were also hit, and many areas were underwater.

Authorities began evacuating people on Monday and planned to move about 30,000 people to safety in Andhra Pradesh, Jain said.

“This is the most dangerous cyclone we have witnessed in the last 14 years,” Krishnamma, a fisherman from Kothapatnam in Prakasam district, told PTI. He said about 400 families from his village had been moved out before the storm hit.

Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said on X that he had spoken to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu about the cyclone’s impact.

“I assured him that the Central Government will provide all kinds of assistance and support,” Shah wrote, adding that national and state disaster response teams were already on the ground.

Murasu formed over the Bay of Bengal, which regularly spawns deadly storms on India’s east coast. It comes days after Cyclone Arnab caused heavy damage in Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Odisha.

The IMD forecast that Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to its south would be worst hit. Murasu is also causing heavy rain in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Odisha.