Cyclone Murasu makes landfall along India's coast

Cyclone Murasu made landfall early Tuesday along the coast of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, according to officials.

It comes days after Cyclone Arnab made landfall along India's southern coast, leaving five people dead.

In an update, the India Meteorological Department said the landfall process of severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu commenced over south coastal Andhra Pradesh at 1 am local time (1930GMT Monday).

“The landfall process continues. In the forward sector of the cyclone, part of a wall cloud entered into land and the eye is touching the coast. Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu over West central Bay of Bengal close to South Andhra Pradesh coast,” the weather department wrote on the US social media platform X.

The landfall brought heavy rainfall accompanied by winds reaching speeds of up to 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had directed officials to prepare for the cyclone. He said estimates suggest that due to the impact of the cyclone, 6,000 to 8,000 electricity poles may be damaged, posing a “severe threat to power supply.”

Authorities have ordered the evacuation of people from low-lying areas to safe locations.

In neighboring Odisha state, authorities shifted 151,434 people to safe places as the government stepped up preparedness measures in vulnerable areas to mitigate the potential impact of the cyclone.