Key Facts

Cyclonic Storm Murasu, which formed over the Bay of Bengal, was forecast to intensify and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur on the night of 2 November 2026, with winds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph. The IMD issued a red alert for five Andhra districts (SPSR Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Bapatla and Krishna) and an orange alert for heavy rain in Chennai and Tiruvallur. The storm follows Cyclone Arnab, which crossed near Narsapur on 28 October with gusts up to 150 kmph, killed five people, inundated crops on over 3.5 lakh hectares and caused losses of about ₹4,600 crore in Andhra Pradesh. 'Murasu', meaning war drum, is a name submitted by India to the regional list of cyclone names.

GK Context

Cyclone names in the North Indian Ocean are assigned from a list proposed by member countries of the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, and the IMD is the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for the basin. As per IMD classification, a Cyclonic Storm has sustained winds of 62-88 km/h, a Severe Cyclonic Storm 89-117 km/h, a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm 118-165 km/h and an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm 166-220 km/h. Tamil Nadu received 217.2 mm of rain between 1 and 27 October, about 51% above the normal 144.2 mm, as the northeast monsoon set in.