Cyclone Murasu Intensifies, 120 Km From Andhra Pradesh Coast; Landfall Likely Tonight

Bhubaneswar: Severe cyclonic storm Murasu over the west-central Bay of Bengal is approaching the Andhra Pradesh coast and is currently around 120 km from Nellore, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.

According to the latest IMD bulletin, the system moved west-northwestwards at 14 kmph during the past six hours and was centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal at 11:30 AM on November 2.

The cyclone is likely to move northwestwards and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, south of Ongole, as a severe cyclonic storm between midnight on Monday and the early hours of Tuesday.

Wind speeds during landfall are expected to reach 100-110 kmph, with gusts up to 120 kmph.

The system is being closely monitored by Doppler Weather Radars at Chennai, Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam. The IMD has issued a red warning for the Andhra Pradesh coast and adjoining north Tamil Nadu.