Cyclone Murasu mapped: Thousands evacuated as India braces for second severe storm in a week

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Cyclone Murasu is expected to hit the coast of India 's southern state of Andhra Pradesh overnight, less than a week after Cyclone Arnab struck the same region. The India Meteorological Department said the storm, which has strengthened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal , will cross the coast between Nellore and Narsapur, near the city of Ongole, between 11.30pm on Monday and 4am on Tuesday local time (6pm to 10.30pm GMT on Monday).

It is expected to bring sustained winds of 100 to 110 kmph, with gusts of up to 120 kmph. It was moving north-west at about 20 kmph as of Monday morning. Authorities in Andhra Pradesh have ordered people to leave low-lying areas. About 2,000 people have already been evacuated and another 30,000 are to be moved, officials of the state disaster management authority said. The state's chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, directed officials to prepare and said that 6,000 to 8,000 electricity poles may be damaged, which he said poses a "severe threat to power supply".

The deputy chief minister, Pawan Kalyan, said on X that the cyclone is expected to have a severe impact on Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla and Krishna districts. Murasu is expected to be less intense than Arnab, which made landfall in Andhra Pradesh on 28 October, killed five people in the state and destroyed dozens of homes and crops. In neighbouring Odisha , the death toll from Arnab and the floods that followed rose to six on Sunday after two bodies were recovered from a village hit by a landslide, officials said.

Ten others are missing. The village, Gidipabali, on the border of Ganjam and Kandhamal districts, was home to about 26 people and was flattened by mud and debris that cascaded down the hills after heavy rain. The 13 people who escaped are in a relief centre. open image in gallery A map released by the IMD showing Murasu's projected path ( India Meteorological Department ) The state's special relief commissioner, Rajesh P Patil, said at least 10 landslides were reported during Arnab, and that the cyclone and floods had affected 118,000 people, damaged 1,672 houses and impacted 75,388 hectares of crops.

Odisha expects rain from Monday, which will intensify on Tuesday and continue until Wednesday under Murasu's influence, the state's meteorological centre said. The government has ordered people to leave low-lying and hilly areas, and schools and colleges are shut in some southern districts until Tuesday. The state's chief minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, announced a package of 50kg of rice and 2,500 rupees (about £23) for each family hit by floods in the south, and said it would be reviewed once the damage from Murasu is known.

A central government team will visit Odisha from 2 to 4 November to assess the damage from Arnab.