Severe cyclonic storm Murasu began making landfall near Ongole in India’s Andhra Pradesh early Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The weather department said the landfall began around 1am, bringing heavy rainfall and gale-force winds of up to 110 kmph, with gusts reaching 120 kmph, reports NDTV.
In an official press release, the IMD stated that the landfall process commenced at 0100 hours IST. The forward section of the cyclone’s wall cloud had started moving onto the coast, while the main wall cloud region was positioned very close to the shoreline.
The cyclone triggered heavy rainfall in several parts of the southern Indian state.
As of 1:30am, the storm was centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal, close to the South Andhra Pradesh coast. It was located approximately 40 km southeast of Ongole, 60 km northeast of Kavali and 70 km south of Bapatla.
The IMD forecast that the cyclone would make landfall between Nellore and Narsapur, near Ongole. Gale-force winds of around 110 kmph, with gusts of up to 120 kmph, were expected to continue along and off the coast until Wednesday morning.
The meteorological department also warned that heavy rainfall was likely in several areas of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh over the following 12 hours.
Additionally, a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 metres above the astronomical tide was forecast to inundate low-lying areas of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh until Wednesday morning. According to the IMD, Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts were expected to experience the highest storm surge.
