With severe cyclonic storm ‘Murasu’ approaching the Andhra Pradesh coast, with wind speeds of 100–110 km per hour, the state government on Monday released Rs 37 crore for rescue and relief operations.
The Revenue (Disaster Management) Department has issued orders, allocating funds to 17 districts to meet immediate expenditure towards rescue and relief operations. The government has sanctioned Rs.3 crore each for six districts, Rs.2 crore each for eight districts, and Rs 1 crore each for three districts. Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) had proposed to the government to accord permission to the Collectors and District Magistrates to utilise funds under Rule TR27 to meet emergent relief requirements such as evacuation, provision of food and temporary shelters, medicines, fuel, transportation, and restoration of essential services.
The Revenue Department accepted the proposal and issued orders. Meanwhile, the APSDMA stated on Monday night that the cyclone is currently centred 80 km from Nellore, 80 km from Kavali, 110 km from Ongole and 170 km from Machilipatnam. It is expected to make landfall near Ongole between tonight (midnight) and the early hours of Tuesday. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in isolated places across the districts of West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, and Palnadu.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also expected in isolated areas within the Prakasam, Markapuram, and Nellore districts. ASDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain has advised people to stay safely indoors. People have been urged to maintain a high state of alert and remain cautious of power lines that may have snapped due to the strong winds. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea. According to the Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre, a storm surge of about 1.5-2 metres above the astronomical tide is very likely to inundate low-lying areas of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Authorities have issued danger signals to ports along the Andhra Pradesh coast. Great Danger 10 (GD-10) has been issued to Nizampatnam Port and Vadarevu Harbour. Danger signal 9 has been hoisted at Machilipatnam, while danger signal 8 has been issued for Krishnapatnam Port. Meanwhile, at least 19 domestic flights were cancelled at Vijayawada, Tirupati, and Visakhapatnam airports on Monday, while several trains were also cancelled.
Vijayawada Airport has cancelled 12 flights while Visakhapatnam Airport (Bhogapuram) has cancelled four flights. Tirupati Airport has also cancelled three flights. This is the second cyclone in the Bay of Bengal to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast in a week.
Very severe cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast near Narsapur in the early hours of October 28, with the maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph. It claimed seven lives and caused widespread damage to crops, roads, electricity and telecom infrastructure in the coastal districts. Crops over thousands of acres were damaged in the cyclone while hundreds of electricity poles and trees were uprooted. As per preliminary estimates, the cyclone caused losses of Rs 4,600 crore.
