In brief
Cyclone Murasu intensified into a severe storm off India's Bay of Bengal, cancelling more than twenty flights in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and prompting the evacuation of around 2,000 people. State officials declared school holidays and issued fishermen alerts, while the Indian Meteorological Department warned of high winds and heavy rain expected to strike the coast early on Tuesday.
On Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, the severe cyclonic storm Murasu struck the Indian east coast, forcing over twenty flights in Tamil Nadu and neighboring Andhra Pradesh to be cancelled and prompting large‑scale evacuations along the shoreline.
At Chennai International Airport, eleven flights were called off, while Vijayawada International Airport grounded ten. A separate report from the Mathrubhumi English Facebook page added that more than thirty flights had been cancelled at Gannavaram Airport and that thirty‑two train services were suspended in Odisha.
Impact on Transportation
These cancellations disrupted travel plans for passengers bound for and from the two cities, and likely affected freight movements that rely on scheduled air and rail services. The disruptions were announced amid a heavy downpour that made airport operations hazardous.
While the public was urged to check flight status with airlines, the flight reductions also highlighted the vulnerability of the region’s transport network to extreme weather events.
Government and Emergency Response
Prakhar Jain, a senior official of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, told local media that approximately two thousand people had been evacuated from low‐lying coastal areas and that the rescue process was still underway. Jewish officials also confirmed that the Indian Meteorological Department had issued orange alerts for six districts and yellow alerts for five others in the state of Telangana.
The governments of Tamil Nadu and its twin districts declared a holiday for all schools and colleges on Monday, reflecting the severity of the weather situation. In Odisha, authorities accelerated the evacuation of residents from vulnerable areas on the same day, citing the threat posed by the cyclone.
According to the IMD, Murasu had moved west‑northwestwards, centering about 120 km southeast of Nellore, Andhra Pradesh and 160 km northeast of Chennai. The Indian Meteorological Department forecasted that the storm would likely surge northwestwards and cross the South Andhra coast with wind speeds of 100–110 km/h, gusting up to 120 km/h, between Nellore and Narsapur during midnight, and that it could make landfall in the early hours of Tuesday.
Fishermen were explicitly advised not to venture into the southeast or southwest Bay of Bengal until Wednesday, as the storm’s high winds and heavy rainfall would make navigation extremely hazardous.
The evacuation alerts and the cancellation of flights and train services underscored a coordinated effort by state emergency agencies to safeguard civilians. The authorities echoed the urgency, urging the public to heed the warnings and to stay informed about the cyclone’s progress.
Over the course of the day, the Murasu warning was accompanied by heavy rain alerts for both Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, prompting not only travel disruptions but also a halt to maritime activities. In the month prior, the same regions had been battered by Cyclone Arnab, whose death toll had risen to six in Odisha and left ten missing. The recurrence of cyclonic activity has intensified scrutiny over coastal disaster preparedness and resilient infrastructure.
While the immediate impacts have materialized in terms of disrupted flights, school closures, and mass evacuations, longer‑term civic implications—beyond the scope of this brief account—will hinge on how authorities manage infrastructure, public information, and the socioeconomic fallout among coastal communities.
