Cyclone Murasu heads for India's Andhra Pradesh coast, a week after Arnab

India's coast is bracing for a second cyclone in a week. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says a depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal strengthened into a deep depression on Sunday, 1 November.

At the time, it was about 700 km east-southeast of Chennai and moving west-northwest at about 23 km/h. The IMD expected it to become a cyclonic storm within hours and a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal on Monday, 2 November.

Forecasters expect it to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur on the morning of Tuesday, 3 November, with sustained winds of 100 to 110 km/h and gusts of up to 120 km/h. Heavy rain is expected along the coast, and fishermen have been told not to go to sea.

The new storm follows Cyclone Arnab, a very severe cyclonic storm that made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast on 28 October. Arnab killed at least seven people in the state, through falling trees, electrocution and collapsing walls, and more than 180,000 people were evacuated in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Odisha reported no deaths.

Update, 1 November: At 11:30 am Indian time, the IMD said the deep depression had strengthened into Cyclonic Storm Murasu, a name proposed by India that means drum in Tamil. It was centred about 560 km east-southeast of Chennai. The IMD expects it to become a severe cyclonic storm by Monday morning and cross the coast between Nellore and Narsapur between 11:30 pm on 2 November and 4 am on 3 November, with winds gusting to 120 km/h. A yellow alert is in force for coastal Andhra Pradesh. Early estimates put Arnab's damage in the state at about 4,600 crore rupees.

Forecasts can change as the storm develops. Residents are advised to follow official IMD bulletins and local evacuation orders.