Authorities in India’s Andhra Pradesh state began evacuating low-lying coastal areas on Monday as Cyclone Murasu approached, less than a week after Cyclone Arnab struck the same coastline and killed six people.
About 2,000 people had been moved by Monday, and “we are planning to evacuate some 30,000 people,” Prakhar Jain of the state disaster management authority told Reuters, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The India Meteorological Department said Murasu was likely to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast near Ongole between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 4 a.m. Tuesday local time as a severe cyclonic storm, with winds of 100 to 110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said 6,000 to 8,000 electricity poles could be damaged, posing a “severe threat to power supply.” Disaster response teams have been deployed, fishermen told to stay ashore, and schools closed in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.
Murasu is expected to be less intense than Arnab.
Sources: Al Jazeera, India Meteorological Department
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