Daijiworld Media Network - Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar, Nov 2: Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Murasu’ was centred over the westcentral Bay of Bengal, about 100 km east of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, at 2.30 pm on Monday and is expected to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast around midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The storm moved nearly northwestwards at a speed of 10 kmph during the past six hours. At 2.30 pm on November 2, it was centred near latitude 14.3°N and longitude 80.9°E.
It was located about 120 km southeast of Kavali, 160 km north-northeast of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, 160 km southeast of Ongole and 210 km south of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the IMD, the severe cyclonic storm is very likely to continue moving northwestwards and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, south of Ongole, while retaining its severe cyclonic storm intensity.
The landfall is expected between 11.30 pm on Monday and 4 am on Tuesday, November 3, with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph, gusting up to 120 kmph.
The cyclone is being continuously monitored by Doppler Weather Radars at Chennai, Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam, the IMD said.