Cyclone Murasu has gone, but its footprint across coastal Andhra Pradesh is still being counted. The severe cyclonic storm crossed the coast near Ongole in the early hours of 3 November 2026, weakened steadily as it moved inland, and dissipated over south-eastern Telangana on 4 November, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Related reading: Cyclone Murasu Landfall in Andhra Pradesh and Cyclone Murasu Damage in Andhra Pradesh.
When and where Murasu made landfall
According to the IMD, Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narasapur, close to Ongole in Prakasam district, between 3:30 am and 5:30 am IST on 3 November. At landfall it carried sustained winds of 100 to 110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, and a storm surge estimated at 1 to 1.5 metres over low-lying parts of Krishna, Bapatla and Prakasam districts.
The storm then slowed to a crawl — about 7 kmph — as it moved north-north-west. By Tuesday afternoon it had weakened to a cyclonic storm about 40 km west-north-west of Bapatla, and the IMD forecast it to become a deep depression by midnight and a depression by the morning of 4 November. By 11:30 am on 4 November, reports citing the IMD said the remnant had weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area over eastern Telangana and adjoining coastal Andhra Pradesh.
What the damage count shows so far
The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) reported at least two deaths, both in Bapatla district, where buildings collapsed on the victims — a 25-year-old man in Chinnaganjam and a 65-year-old woman in Karamchedu, according to officials quoted by NewsPlainly. About 12,230 people were in relief camps in Guntur, Bapatla and Palnadu.
Standing crops on 52,459 hectares were damaged, mainly paddy, cotton and maize, with Krishna, Bapatla and Nandyal the worst-hit districts. The preliminary loss estimate was at least ₹344 crore, alongside 312 damaged houses, more than 300 uprooted trees, damage to over 31,000 electric poles, and power disruption reported in thousands of villages. Officials have stressed that these are preliminary figures: a formal damage assessment had not been completed, and the final count is likely to change.
The paradox: flood water in a drought-hit region
One of the strangest parts of the Murasu story is what its rain did to a longer dry spell. According to Neo Science Hub, the storm's rain nearly halved a seasonal deficit that had left much of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh under drought advisories — even as the same rain flooded fields and destroyed standing crops. A crop-loss survey was under way in 365 drought-hit mandals in Telangana, 111 of them classed as severe, at the same time as Murasu's outer bands reached the state's eastern districts.
That contrast is a useful reminder of how cyclones work in this region: a single storm can be both a disaster and a water source, depending on where the rain falls, how fast it arrives, and whether crops are ready to harvest. Heavy rain in a few hours floods; the same water spread over weeks would have been a gift.
What happens next
As the remnant low-pressure system continues northwards, the IMD's warnings shift from wind to rain: heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places, thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds, and localised flooding remain possible across parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, southern Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The next steps are practical rather than dramatic — completing the damage survey, restoring power and roads, assessing the flooded paddy, and deciding what compensation farmers receive. For residents, the key message from the IMD bulletins is simple: the cyclone itself is over, but its rain and its aftermath are not yet finished.
