Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday telephoned Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and assured the State of all possible assistance from the Centre as relief and restoration work continued after Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu made landfall. Shah said National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were already deployed in affected areas, supporting residents and carrying out relief operations. In a post on X, Shah stated that he had reviewed the impact with Naidu and that the Government of India stood with the people of Andhra Pradesh.
During the conversation, Naidu gave Shah a rundown of the situation that had arisen as a result of Cyclone Murasu, which followed immediately after Cyclone Arnab. He detailed the crop and property damage reported in several districts and the relief and rescue measures the State administration was implementing. He thanked the Union Home Minister for the immediate support extended, including the dispatch of a central team to assess the damage from Arnab.
Naidu asked for sufficient assistance to deal with the impact of the two systems in succession. He later thanked the Centre on social media for its solidarity, noting that the state machinery was working in close co-ordination with the central teams on rescue, relief, and road clearing.
As per the India Meteorological Department, the severe cyclonic storm crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narasapur (near Ongole in Prakasam) between 3.30 and 5.30 am on Tuesday. Winds were 100-110 kmph, with gusts of 120 kmph. A Met Department official said the eye of the system passed over the coast around 5.30 am, and the tail end of the system was still making landfall. Post-landfall, the system moved north-northwest and was expected to gradually weaken into a cyclonic storm by noon and then into a deep depression by midnight.
The cyclone hit the coastal and adjacent districts with heavy rains and strong winds, uprooting trees, knocking down electricity poles and infrastructure and flooding low-lying areas. Standing crops were damaged in numerous districts, with damage reported in as many as 15 districts. Prakasam, Bapatla, Palnadu and the surrounding areas were the worst affected. Rainfall was 198 mm at Naguluppalapadu and over 182 mm at Kothapatnam in Prakasam. The wind was expected to affect around 8,000 power poles in the south coastal and Rayalaseema areas.
Train services were affected, with services suspended on several sections and dozens of trains impacted, while flights were cancelled at the State’s airports as the system approached. Fishing boats and thatched houses in the coastal villages were damaged.
Relief operations were underway, with the NDRF part of a larger deployment that included 14 teams in Andhra Pradesh, working with the SDRF and State agencies. Over 1.75 lakh people were affected, and around 171 relief centres were in place, sheltering over 10,000 people. Initial assessments found no major casualties.
Before landfall, the State Administration had already put in place preparedness measures, including issuing alerts in vulnerable districts, evacuating people from low-lying areas, and mobilising power restoration personnel. CM Naidu had earlier remarked that Murasu’s impact was likely to be considerably less than Arnab’s, with the emphasis on water management in reservoirs and tanks.
One after the other, these events have exacerbated the state’s recovery problems, which were still working through the damage from Arnab when Murasu came along. State agencies are still monitoring residual rainfall and clearing debris as the system weakens inland.