Cyclone Murasu landfall begins; heavy rain, 120 kmph winds batter Andhra coast

Amaravati, Nov 3 (PTI): Severe cyclonic storm Murasu began its landfall process close to Ongole in Prakasam district in the early hours of Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

According to the Met department, the cyclone started making landfall around 1 am on Wednesday, bringing heavy rainfall, accompanied by gale winds reaching speeds of up to 110 kmph and gusting up to 120 kmph.

"The landfall process commenced at 0100 hours IST on November 3. The forward sector of the wall cloud is entering the coast, while the wall cloud region is very close to the coast," the IMD's official press release said.

Under the influence of the cyclone, heavy rain struck several places in the southern state.

The cyclone was centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal, close to the South Andhra Pradesh coast, about 40 km southeast of Ongole, 60 km northeast of Kavali and 70 km south of Bapatla, as of 0130 hours.

The IMD said the landfall point was expected to be between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole. The gale-force winds of nearly 110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, were likely to prevail along and off the coast until morning.

Heavy spells of rainfall were also likely across South Coastal Andhra Pradesh during the next 12 hours, said the Met department

A storm surge of 1-1.5 metres above the astronomical tide was likely to inundate low-lying areas of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh until Wednesday morning, with the maximum peak surge expected over Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts, the IMD added. PTI MS STH APL

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