Authorities began evacuating people along India's eastern coast on Monday as severe cyclonic storm Murasu closed in on Andhra Pradesh, a region still recovering from a deadly cyclone last week. "Around 2,000 people have been evacuated, and the process is continuing. We are planning to evacuate some 30,000 people," Prakhar Jain, managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), told Reuters on Monday.
Source: Reuters
The evacuation is the ground-level escalation of the storm Awaaz Punjab reported earlier on Monday, when Murasu intensified into a severe cyclonic storm with a landfall forecast near Ongole tonight. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the storm skirted Chennai on Monday morning and was racing towards the south Andhra Pradesh coast, centred about 200 km east-northeast of Chennai and 210 km east-southeast of Nellore at 5.30 a.m., with landfall expected between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, around midnight on Monday or by 4 a.m. on Tuesday, packing sustained winds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine (IMD update)
Ports along the south Andhra coast have stepped up to their highest alert levels. Great Danger Signal Number 10 has been hoisted at Nizampatnam and Vadarevu ports, Great Danger Signal Number 9 at Machilipatnam and Number 8 at Krishnapatnam, while Visakhapatnam, Bheemunipatnam, Gangavaram, Kakinada and Kalingapatnam are under Local Cautionary Signal Number 3, the IMD update reported. A storm surge of about 3.2 to 5 feet above the astronomical tide could inundate low-lying areas of Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts around landfall, and waves of 10 to 16 feet are forecast off the East Godavari coast between Antarvedi and Perumallapuram from Monday afternoon to Tuesday late morning. Fishing operations remain suspended, with fishermen advised not to venture into the sea through Wednesday.
Rescue teams in place before landfall
Six teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and seven teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in advance for relief and rescue work, APSDMA managing director Prakhar Jain said, according to IANS. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam, Markapuram and Nellore districts on Monday and Tuesday, with very heavy rain also likely in Eluru, East Godavari, West Godavari, NTR, Palnadu, Tirupati and Chittoor. Anticipating damage to electricity infrastructure, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday spoke to the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka requesting personnel and machinery for power restoration, and crews that finished restoration work in Cyclone Arnab-hit areas have been kept ready for deployment.
Source: IANS via Nation Press
Awaaz Punjab reported earlier on Monday that Murasu had intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, 290 km from Nellore, with landfall near Ongole tonight. Read: Murasu is now a severe cyclonic storm
Murasu is the second cyclone to hit this coast within a week. Reuters noted it is expected to be less intense than last week's Cyclone Arnab, in which six people were killed and dozens of houses and crops were destroyed. The IMD expects Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to bear the brunt of the storm, with heavy rain also threatening districts farther inland and in neighbouring Odisha as the system moves in after landfall.