Andhra Pradesh seeks help from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to fight cyclone 'Mursu'

A deep depression formed over the south-west and west-central Bay of Bengal turned into a cyclonic storm on Sunday, which has been named 'Mursu'. 'Mursu' means a war drum. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), this storm will cross between Nellore and Narasapur in Andhra Pradesh on the morning of 3 November with a speed of 100 to 110 kmph and winds up to 120 kmph. Considering this potential devastation, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has sought assistance from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka regarding the deployment of personnel and machinery to restore the electricity infrastructure.

According to a report by 'The Hindu', Chief Minister Naidu spoke over the telephone on Sunday with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, appealing to them to send the necessary manpower and equipment for restoration work in the cyclone-affected areas. The Chief Ministers of both states responded positively and assured all possible help. Chief Minister Naidu stated that Andhra Pradesh officials will consult with the officials of both neighbouring states to ensure the deployment of personnel and machinery.

Meanwhile, electricity department personnel from Telangana are already engaged in the work of restoring the power infrastructure damaged by the earlier 'Arnab' cyclone. The Andhra Pradesh government has also kept teams that finished restoration work in areas affected by 'Arnab' on standby to be sent to regions likely to be affected by 'Mursu'. The main objective of this step is to provide additional manpower and equipment to handle the power supply infrastructure, especially in the event of wooden or other electricity poles being uprooted.

According to India Meteorological Department statistics, this cyclonic storm had been moving in a west-north-west direction at a speed of 25 kmph during the past six hours. On Sunday night, the storm was centered about 350 km east of Chennai, 400 km east-southeast of Nellore, 430 km southeast of Machilipatnam, 420 km east-southeast of Kavali, 450 km southeast of Ongole, and 520 km south of Visakhapatnam.

In view of the cyclonic situation, several steps have been taken by the administration. Chennai District Collector S. Malathi Helen and Tiruvallur District Collector S. Kavitha have announced the closure of schools and colleges on Monday, 2 November, due to the forecast of heavy rain. In addition, Palnadu District Collector Krutika Shukla has also declared a holiday for all government and private schools, colleges, and Anganwadi centres on 2 November in view of cyclone 'Mursu'. An orange alert for Monday has been issued in six districts of Telangana and a yellow alert in five other districts.

According to Regional Meteorological Centre statistics, by 10.30 pm on Sunday, rainfall recorded was 20.4 mm at Nungambakkam station in Chennai district, 4.9 mm at Meenambakkam, 13.5 mm at YMCA Nandanam, 39 mm at Ennore Port, 21 mm at Madhavaram, 10.5 mm at Anna University, and 7.5 mm at Taramani. Along with this, information was received that 11 mm of rainfall was recorded in Puzhal in Tiruvallur district, 0.5 mm in Poonamallee, and 0.5 mm at VIT Chennai in Chengalpattu district.