Cyclone Murasu: India's East Coast Faced a Second Storm in a Week
Days after Cyclone Arnab, Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu hit the Andhra coast near Ongole. Here is what the India Meteorological Department tracked, and how it differed from Arnab.
A second cyclone in a single week struck India's east coast this month. Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu formed over the Bay of Bengal and crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, overnight on 2-3 November 2026, barely five days after Cyclone Arnab had already left a trail of damage in the same region.
What the India Meteorological Department tracked
According to the IMD's official cyclone bulletin, Murasu intensified into a severe cyclonic storm by the morning of 2 November, when it was centred about 290 km east-southeast of Nellore and 330 km southeast of Ongole. The storm moved northwestwards at around 20 kmph and was forecast to cross the coast with sustained wind speeds of 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, between the night of 2 November and the early hours of 3 November.
The IMD also warned of a storm surge of 1.0-1.5 metres above the normal tide level in low-lying parts of south coastal Andhra Pradesh at the time of landfall, with the highest surge expected near Bapatla and the Krishna and Prakasam districts. Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall was forecast for coastal Andhra Pradesh on 2 and 3 November, with the IMD's own bulletin table projecting that Murasu would weaken steadily after landfall, from a severe cyclonic storm to a cyclonic storm by the morning of 3 November, a deep depression by that night, and a plain depression by 4 November as it moved inland.
How the state responded
Andhra Pradesh and Odisha moved more than 1.8 lakh people to safer ground ahead of landfall, according to reports from The Week and Al Jazeera that cited state disaster management officials. Andhra Pradesh released about ₹37 crore in relief funds to 17 districts, deployed more than 1,600 medical teams, and opened 116 relief camps. Six National Disaster Response Force and seven State Disaster Response Force teams were sent to the districts most likely to be hit. Airlines cancelled flights at Vijayawada airport, and schools and colleges were shut in several coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and in Chennai and Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu as a precaution.
Why two cyclones hit so close together
The Bay of Bengal typically sees several storms form between October and December, after the southwest monsoon withdraws and sea-surface temperatures are still warm from the summer. Warm water at least 26.5°C deep is the basic fuel a cyclone needs, and this is normally the time of year when the Bay has the most of it. A fresh low-pressure system can develop again within days of an earlier one clearing out, especially in a season when ocean temperatures stay elevated. The underlying mechanics of how a cyclone forms, strengthens and gets its category, from depression to super cyclonic storm, are the same for every storm; the [Cyclone Arnab article](/post/cyclone-arnab-why-it-hit-so-hard-and-how-cyclones-form) explains that process in detail.
What most people miss
- Back-to-back cyclones are not unusual in this window. Late October to early December is the Bay of Bengal's most active cyclone period, so a second or third system forming within days of the last one is common in a busy year.
- The wind category can fall fast once a storm crosses land, but the rain it carries often keeps causing flooding and water-logging for a day or two after the wind has dropped, which is why rainfall warnings stayed in force well past landfall.
- A storm surge is a separate hazard from the wind. Low-lying coastal mandals can flood from the sea pushing inland even if a particular building is otherwise storm-proof, which is why the IMD bulletin named specific at-risk habitations near the coast.
- Evacuation numbers reflect caution, not certainty of disaster. Moving over a lakh people before landfall is now standard practice in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, regardless of how severe a storm turns out to be once it actually arrives.
