The severe cyclonic storm Murasu has intensified in the Bay of Bengal, triggering heavy rainfall alerts across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh. Schools and colleges in Chennai and Tiruvallur have been ordered to close.
On Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Cyclone Murasu had intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over Westcentral Bay of Bengal. The cyclone is expected to make landfall near Ongole in Andhra Pradesh between midnight on Monday and Tuesday morning, with wind speeds of 100 km per hour to 110 km per hour, gusting to 120 km per hour.
As of 8.30 am on Monday, the storm was 180 km northeast of Chennai and 160 km east-southeast of Nellore, according to the IMD.
The heavy rain forecast has led to the authorities in Chennai and Tiruvallur ordering schools and colleges in the two districts to remain closed on Monday. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu spoke with his Tamil Nadu counterpart C Joseph Vijay to coordinate the states’ efforts to mitigate the damage.
Naidu requested human resources and machinery to restore damaged power systems, with Vijay responding positively to the request. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister said that 6,000 to 8,000 electricity poles may be damaged because of the cyclone, severely threatening power supply.
Ten IndiGo flights scheduled to operate from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh on Monday were cancelled because of the cyclone, according to airport authorities. Eleven IndiGo flights to and from Chennai, including three to and from Vijayawada, were also cancelled, reported the airport operator.
On Monday morning, IndiGo airline said that its operations to and from Visakhapatnam had been impacted. This is the second cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in less than a week, with Cyclone Arnab having completed landfall in Andhra Pradesh on October 28.
Three persons were killed and 31 houses damaged in Andhra Pradesh because of Cyclone Arnab. In neighbouring Odisha, 12 persons were missing after heavy rainfall triggered a landslide in Ganjam district on Friday.
Source:
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