Authorities in south-eastern India have evacuated thousands of coastal villagers as the nation braces for its second severe tropical cyclone within a week, threatening widespread inundation and structural destruction.
Cyclone Murasu is barrelling across the Bay of Bengal and is forecast to make landfall near the coastal city of Ongole late on Monday, packing sustained winds of up to 110 kilometres per hour, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Coastal evacuations gather pace across Andhra Pradesh
Emergency services and local district administrations have launched sweeping evacuation campaigns across low-lying coastal hamlets. Al Jazeera reported that thousands of residents have already been moved into makeshift relief camps established in government schools, community halls, and fortified cyclone shelters.
State disaster response forces have been deployed alongside national emergency personnel, pre-positioning rescue craft, power generators, and medical provisions along the vulnerable shoreline. Officials have urged fishing communities to keep boats docked and advised coastal farmers to secure livestock as storm surges threaten to inundate low-lying agricultural plains.
Double disaster strikes battered eastern seaboard
The imminent arrival of Cyclone Murasu comes as local communities struggle to recover from an earlier cyclonic depression that lashed the coastline only days ago. The relentless sequence of severe weather has left catchments saturated, vastly increasing the risk of flash flooding and structural damage.
Disaster management authorities fear that additional downpours on waterlogged soils could trigger localised landslips, undermine roads, and disrupt vital rail corridors linking southern Indian hubs. Extensive damage to standing crops, particularly paddy fields and commercial aquaculture, is expected, with local analysts warning that producers face millions of Australian dollars in agricultural losses.
Meteorological warnings signal destructive gale-force squalls
Forecasters from the meteorological bureau have warned that Cyclone Murasu will bring torrential rainfall across swathes of Andhra Pradesh and adjacent southern states, with the storm system expected to maintain intensity well after tracking inland.
Wind gusts topping 110 kilometres per hour are expected to uproot mature trees, down power poles, and tear away thatched roofs and tin cladding from regional dwellings. Port operations in the region have been suspended, with commercial vessels ordered to deep water to ride out the gale-force squalls.
Warming waters amplify Bay of Bengal cyclone hazards
The Bay of Bengal has long been a notorious crucible for destructive tropical systems, particularly during the transition period following the south-west monsoon. However, regional climate scientists have increasingly cautioned that elevated sea surface temperatures in the northern Indian Ocean are providing the thermodynamic fuel necessary for rapid storm intensification.
With consecutive cyclonic disturbances buffeting the subcontinent's eastern coastline, humanitarian agencies have warned of compounded vulnerabilities for coastal populations, who now face prolonged displacement as emergency crews prepare for a protracted recovery effort.