Hyderabad: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red and orange alerts for several districts in Telangana, forecasting heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across the state on November 2 and 3 due to Cyclone Murasu, which is expected to make landfall along the south Andhra Pradesh coast late Monday night (November 2) night.
The IMD said several Telangana districts, including Khammam, Suryapet, Nalgonda, Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Mahabubabad, Warangal, Jangaon, Karimnagar and Bhadradri Kothagudem, are likely to experience strong winds under the influence of the cyclone. Hyderabad is also expected to receive moderate rainfall over the next two days.
In a statement, the IMD said Cyclone Murasu is likely to move northwestwards and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, south of Ongole, between 11.30 pm on November 2 and 4 am on November 3.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall as a severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 100–110 kmph, gusting up to 120 kmph.
The IMD said the cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a severe cyclonic storm at 2.30 am on Monday. At 8.30 am, the cyclone was centred over the westcentral Bay of Bengal, approximately 160 km east-southeast of Nellore, 180 km northeast of Chennai, 210 km southeast of Ongole and 240 km south of Machilipatnam.
Widespread rainfall is likely to continue across Telangana until November 4, followed by isolated to scattered rainfall from November 5 to 8, the IMD said.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh is expected to bear the brunt of Cyclone Murasu, with the IMD forecasting extremely heavy rainfall, gale-force winds and storm surges along the southern coastal districts.
The weather department warned that coastal districts, including Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam, SPSR Nellore, Guntur, Eluru, NTR, Palnadu and West Godavari, are likely to experience strong winds as the cyclone approaches the coast.
Wind speeds along the Andhra Pradesh coast are expected to increase from 50–60 kmph to 80–90 kmph on Monday afternoon, reaching 100–110 kmph and gusting up to 120 kmph by night.
Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on November 2 and 3, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall also expected during the same period.