Cyclone Murasu leaves trail of destruction in Prakasam district; no casualties reported

Severe cyclonic storm Murasu made landfall near Ongole in the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh during the early hours of Tuesday. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the storm crossed the coast between 3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. with sustained winds of 100–110 km/h and gusts reaching 120 km/h. The IMD noted the cyclone is moving north-northwest and is expected to weaken into a cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 80–90 km/h by Tuesday afternoon, potentially becoming a deep depression by midnight.

The storm has caused significant destruction, including damage to crops, electricity poles, and mobile networks. DW English (Top Stories) reports that thousands of trees have been uprooted, while The Hindu reports that hundreds of trees were uprooted and several livestock died. Heavy rainfall and gale-force winds disrupted train services, leading the South Coast Railway’s Vijayawada Division to temporarily suspend movements along the Vijayawada-Ongole-Gudur section and affect 29 trains. Local elections saw delayed vote counting due to the weather.

Authorities issued red alerts for three districts and orange alerts for other areas. As a precaution, schools and colleges were closed in at least eight districts. Officials have shifted people to relief shelters, including 137 pregnant women, and fishermen were advised to stay out of the sea for two days.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu, Gulf News, DW News, DW English (Top Stories), Hindustan Times — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.