This story updates Awaaz Punjab's report this morning of the first official damage assessment for Cyclone Murasu, which put crop damage at 30,661 hectares, said 10,805 people were in 171 relief camps and reported no casualties so far. Officials have now revised the toll: two people have been confirmed killed, the crop-damage figure has risen to 52,459 hectares and the loss estimate stands at at least Rs 344 crore. Read the earlier assessment
At least two people have been killed and crops across 52,459 hectares damaged after Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu battered Andhra Pradesh, destroying homes, uprooting trees and damaging power infrastructure, officials said on Tuesday in a revised assessment reported by TBS News and Daily8, both citing the state disaster authority and the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Source: TBS News
Prakhar Jain, managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), told PTI that at least two people died in cyclone-related incidents and 12,230 people remain in cyclone shelters. Preliminary estimates put the damage at at least Rs 344 crore, with 52,459 hectares of crops affected, Jain said.
Source: Daily8 (PTI)
The cyclone — the second to hit Andhra Pradesh within a week, after Cyclone Arnab — made landfall early on Tuesday, inundating standing crops across 15 districts, with Krishna, Bapatla and Nandyala among the worst affected. It crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narasapur, near Ongole, between 3:30 am and 5:30 am, with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Source: IMD press bulletin
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall lashed several areas ahead of the landfall. Thousands of trees were uprooted and around 2,750 electricity poles were damaged, TBS News reported, with power transmission lines, substations and distribution equipment also hit, particularly in Prakasam and Bapatla districts. Some fishing boats were damaged in Prakasam district and vehicles were stranded on national highways as motorists struggled with poor visibility.
How the picture changed during the day
The first official assessment, issued earlier on Tuesday, had recorded no deaths and put crop damage at 30,661 hectares across 15 districts and 132 mandals, with 10,805 evacuated people in 171 relief camps. The revised figures — nearly double the crop area, the first confirmed deaths and a monetary loss estimate — show the scale of damage emerging as field teams reached more areas. All figures remain preliminary and may change again after detailed field verification.
What is solid
- Two people killed, 52,459 hectares of crops damaged, at least Rs 344 crore in preliminary losses and 12,230 people in shelters, according to APSDMA managing director Prakhar Jain via PTI, reported by TBS News and Daily8.
- Murasu crossed the coast near Ongole between 3:30 am and 5:30 am on November 3 with winds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph (IMD).
- The earlier official assessment the same morning reported no casualties and 30,661 hectares of crop damage — the revised tally supersedes it.
What is only claimed
- All damage and loss figures are preliminary official estimates and may change after detailed field verification.
- The two deaths are described by officials as cyclone-related incidents; district-wise details of the deaths have not yet been published.
What happens next
The severe cyclonic storm weakened into a cyclonic storm during Tuesday and was expected to weaken further into a deep depression by midnight, the IMD said, while warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in coastal Andhra Pradesh on November 4. Relief and restoration work — power lines, roads and shelters — continues in the affected districts, and a fuller damage enumeration is expected as field verification is completed. Sources: TBS News; Daily8 via PTI; IMD press bulletin; The Hindu BusinessLine.