Severe Cyclone Murasu heads for landfall near Ongole tonight — Chennai already lashed by heavy rain
Severe Cyclone Murasu skirted Chennai on Monday morning and is racing toward the south Andhra Pradesh coast, where the India Meteorological Department expects it to cross between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, between 11:30pm on Monday and 4am on Tuesday, with winds of 100–110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h. Chennai has already had very heavy rain — 149.2mm in 24 hours at Parrys — and ports along the south Andhra coast are under their highest danger signals. No casualty or damage toll had been reported by Monday morning.
Checking in progress
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Key points
- Landfall is complete: the IMD says Murasu crossed the south Andhra coast close to Ongole (near 15.53°N, 80.22°E) between 03:30 and 05:30 IST on Tuesday 3 November, with winds of 100–110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h (IMD on X, 06:36 IST).
- The storm is now over land and is forecast to weaken — a cyclonic storm by 11:30am IST and a deep depression by late Tuesday night as it moves north-northwest towards Telangana, with gales of 70–80 km/h gusting to 90 km/h over interior areas until about noon and extremely heavy rain at isolated places (IMD). A storm surge of 1–1.5 metres was forecast for low-lying areas of Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam until Wednesday morning. No casualty or damage toll had been reported in the reports read.
- Highest danger signals are up at south Andhra ports (No. 10 at Nizampatnam and Vadarevu); fishing is suspended and a 3.2–5 ft storm surge is warned for low-lying areas.
- Chennai has already had very heavy rain — 149.2mm in 24 hours at Parrys (Greater Chennai Corporation) — with waterlogged roads. No casualty or damage toll had been reported by Monday morning.
- By Monday afternoon about 2,000 people had been evacuated in Andhra Pradesh, with nearly 30,000 more likely to be moved (disaster officials to Reuters), and at least 19 flights were cancelled across Vijayawada, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam, with 11 more cancelled at Chennai (airport officials).
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What happened
Murasu is the second severe storm to hit this coast in a week: Cyclone Arnab damaged electricity infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh days earlier, and repair teams from Telangana were still finishing that work when Murasu approached. That is why Andhra Pradesh's preparations this time start with power — the chief minister has lined up Tamil Nadu and Karnataka crews before landfall, not after.
Chennai, about 200 km from the storm's Monday-morning centre, sat under its outer rain bands rather than its core: the rain was heavy enough to waterlog northern districts and put the city on orange alert, but the damaging winds, surge and waves are forecast for the south Andhra coast around Ongole overnight.
Claim by claim
Why this label: Updated in place with the completed crossing (replace, don't stack): the crossing window (03:30–05:30 IST), the crossing point (close to Ongole, near 15.53°N, 80.22°E) and the wind speeds are the IMD's own words in its 06:36 IST post on X, quoted verbatim with its status link on the live page read in full in this run; the same page carries the IMD's 04:16 IST (eye touching the coast) and 05:08 IST (eye entering, most of the wall cloud onto land) posts, and ANI's report (via NewKerala, read in full) corroborates the eye-touching stage. The 01:00 IST commencement and 01:30 IST position are the IMD bulletin quoted verbatim by News18 and Reuters' Bhubaneswar report, as in the previous stage of this claim.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Edited in place now that the crossing is complete (replace, don't stack): the forecast window, place and wind speeds were the IMD's, stated identically in The Hindu BusinessLine's report and ANI's verbatim bulletin report; the 03:00 IST bulletin's by-about-06:00 IST expectation and the weakening path (cyclonic storm by 11:30 IST, deep depression by late Tuesday night, towards Telangana) are the IMD's as carried with its 06:36 IST crossing post on the live page read in full in this run. The weakening figures are a forecast, not a measured strength on land.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The signals, surge and wave warnings and the fishing suspension are all from the IMD as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, read in full. These are official warnings in force on Monday, not measured impacts.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (5 more)
Why this label: The rainfall figures are the Greater Chennai Corporation's Integrated Command and Control Centre figures as reported by Nation Press (read in full): Parrys 149.2mm, New Manali Town 141.6mm, Manali 136.2mm, with the five/28 station split. Civic teams were deployed and the corporation commissioner inspected waterlogged areas, per the same report.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Verified as the Andhra Pradesh government's own account in its official release, reported by Nation Press (read in full). It is a preparation measure ahead of landfall — no Murasu damage had been reported when this page was published.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The evacuation figures are the disaster-management officials' own, given to Reuters and carried in The Hindu BusinessLine's live coverage (read in full in this run); the NDRF deployment is PTI's report in the same live coverage, attributed to an official. Both are preparations and movements reported before landfall — no casualty or damage toll had been reported. The 37-team figure is the NDRF's own deployment statement: Shahedi's words to ANI (via Devdiscourse, read in this run) and PTI's report in The Hindu BusinessLine's live coverage agree on 37 teams across five states, 13 in Andhra Pradesh.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Andhra total and its breakdown are the airport directors' and the airport operator's own figures, reported in The Hindu BusinessLine's live coverage (read in full in this run, 18:16 IST entry; its 12:51 IST entry lists the 11 Chennai cancellations). Travel + Leisure Asia's report of the same cancellations (Chennai 11, Vijayawada's 10 IndiGo flights listed) corroborates them; its wider regional total counts a different set of airports, so the totals are not merged here.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The state government's own release decision and district split, as set out in the department's orders reported by Nation Press (read in full in this pass). These are allocated relief funds — a government action, carried as such — not a damage estimate.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The storm's classification, Monday-morning position and speed, and the IMD's landfall window, place and wind forecast — the weather office's own bulletin, carried identically by two reports read in this pass.
- The warnings in force (port signals, surge and wave warnings, fishing suspension) and Chennai's measured rainfall to 6am Monday.
- That evacuations and flight cancellations began on Monday: about 2,000 evacuated with nearly 30,000 more likely (disaster officials to Reuters), three NDRF teams deployed, and at least 19 Andhra airport cancellations plus 11 at Chennai (airport officials).
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- That Murasu's centre has crossed: the IMD said on X at 06:36 IST that it crossed between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole near 15.53°N, 80.22°E, during 03:30–05:30 IST, at 100–110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h — the crossing point and strength are the weather office's own statement.
What we don't know yet
- How Murasu weakens over land — the IMD forecasts a cyclonic storm by 11:30am IST and a deep depression by late Tuesday night, but no post-crossing bulletin read for this page yet confirms its measured strength on land.
- Casualties and damage for Murasu — none had been reported in the reports read overnight; evacuations began on Monday (see the claims), and any casualty or damage figure published later will be checked against the state disaster authorities.
- How much of the forecast surge and rainfall materialised in the landfall districts — district reports were still coming in when this page was updated.
Why it matters
A severe cyclone crossing a low-lying coast at night is among the deadliest weather events in the Bay of Bengal, and this one arrives days after Cyclone Arnab weakened the same power and coastal infrastructure. The next twelve hours — the landfall window the IMD has named — decide whether the warnings and preparations were enough.
Background
Cyclone Arnab strikes India's east coast, damaging electricity infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh; Odisha later announces a relief package for affected families (queue #19 chain; The Hindu).
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu asks Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for post-cyclone power-restoration help; Telangana's Arnab repair teams are kept on standby (official release via Nation Press).
IMD bulletin: severe cyclone Murasu centred 200 km east-northeast of Chennai, moving west-northwest at about 25 km/h; landfall forecast near Ongole between 23:30 IST Monday and 04:00 IST Tuesday (IMD via The Hindu BusinessLine; ANI).
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Checking in progress — Murasu has crossed the coast close to Ongole: the India Meteorological Department said on X at 06:36 IST on Tuesday (01:06 UTC) that Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu moved north-northwestwards and crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole (near 15.53°N, 80.22°E), during 03:30–05:30 IST, with winds of 100–110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h. The post is quoted verbatim, with its X status link, on the live page read in full in this run, which also carries the IMD's overnight posts — the eye touching the coast at 04:16 IST and entering it at 05:08 IST — and ANI (via NewKerala, read in full) corroborates the eye-touching stage. Gate: one primary source, the IMD itself. The two landfall-stage claims and the first two key points were edited in place, not stacked, and the crossing point and strength move from this page's don't-know list to its know list; the weakening path (a cyclonic storm by 11:30 IST, a deep depression by late Tuesday night, towards Telangana) is carried as the IMD's forecast. No casualty or damage toll had been reported in the reports read. Video check: no official-channel video of the completed crossing was verified via YouTube's oEmbed endpoint in this run — the search found only pre-landfall interviews and alerts and non-official live coverage — so the story's existing DD India video is unchanged. The story carries no French or Arabic full text, so no full-text rebuild arose. The story stays in Checking.
Checking in progress — landfall has begun: the IMD said the landfall process of Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu commenced over south coastal Andhra Pradesh at 01:00 IST on Tuesday 3 November (19:30 UTC Monday) — “The forward sector of the wall cloud is entering the coast, while the wall cloud region is very close to the coast” — with the centre about 40 km southeast of Ongole at 01:30 IST and winds of 100–110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h (IMD bulletin via News18, read in full in this run; Reuters, Bhubaneswar, published 21:05Z, reports the same 01:00 IST / 1930 GMT start). The position claim and the forecast claim on this page are edited in place, not stacked, and the surge forecast is now 1–1.5 metres for low-lying areas of Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts until Wednesday morning. No casualty or damage toll had been reported in the reports read, and no report read yet confirms the centre has completed the crossing — both stay in what we don't know. Video check: a search for an official-channel video of the landfall itself found only pre-landfall alerts (including the DD India report already attached) and non-official channels, and no new official video was verified via YouTube's oEmbed endpoint in this run, so the story's existing video is unchanged. The story carries no French or Arabic full text (headline and summary only), so no full-text rebuild arises from this append.
Checking in progress — landfall night: the IMD's Monday-night bulletin (21:30 IST) put Murasu about 90 km southeast of Ongole at 20:30 IST, moving north-northwest at 12 km/h with winds of 100–110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h (ANI, read in full in this pass) — the position claim on this page is edited in place, not stacked. Andhra Pradesh's government released ₹37 crore for rescue and relief across 17 districts (department orders via Nation Press, read in full) — added as a claim. ANI also reported surges above 0.5 m already inundating some coastal pockets and that mass evacuations were not under way in several vulnerable low-lying pockets; that ground picture is ANI's reporting and is carried in this update only, not as a claim. The landfall window (23:30 IST Monday–04:00 IST Tuesday, between Nellore and Narsapur close to Ongole) and the 1.0–1.5 m surge forecast are unchanged; no casualty or damage toll had been reported.
Show earlier updates (3)
Checking in progress — the rescue deployment scales up before landfall: the NDRF now has 37 teams deployed across five states, 13 of them in Andhra Pradesh, its Deputy Inspector General Mohsen Shahedi told ANI, with PTI reporting the same deployment in The Hindu BusinessLine's live coverage. The evacuation/NDRF claim on this page was edited in place to carry the wider deployment alongside the three Chennai-battalion teams already reported. Landfall is still expected between Nellore and Narsapur around midnight tonight, at up to 120 km/h (IMD, via PTI). No casualty or damage figure has been reported. The story already carries a DD India video; no new official video was added in this run.
Checking in progress — Murasu's impacts begin before landfall: the IMD's 8:30am IST bulletin put the storm 160 km east-southeast of Nellore, moving west-northwest at 22 km/h (the position claim on this page is edited in place; the 5:30am position was 200 km east-northeast of Chennai at about 25 km/h). Andhra Pradesh disaster officials told Reuters about 2,000 people had been evacuated, with nearly 30,000 more likely to be moved, and three NDRF teams (90 personnel) have deployed to Nellore, Prakasam and Markapuram (PTI). Airport officials reported at least 19 flights cancelled across Vijayawada, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam, with 11 more at Chennai. Sources: The Hindu BusinessLine's live coverage, read in full in this run, with Travel + Leisure Asia corroborating the cancellations. A DD India report on the storm is attached as video — its YouTube oEmbed check returned 200 in this run. Landfall itself has still not happened; the 11:30pm–4:00am window stands.
Story published in Checking state (queue #868). Basis: IMD bulletin via The Hindu BusinessLine and ANI (both read in this pass), Chennai Corporation rainfall figures via Nation Press. Landfall is forecast for 23:30 IST Monday–04:00 IST Tuesday near Ongole; no casualty or damage toll had been reported.