Cyclone Alert / Cyclone Murasu threat: Heavy to very heavy rain forecast in flood-hit south Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Oct 31: Even as flood-hit districts of south Odisha continue to recover from the devastation caused by Cyclone Arnab and subsequent floods, another weather system brewing over the Bay of Bengal is likely to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall to the region in the first week of November.

The regional centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Bhubaneswar has issued an orange warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam districts on November 3 and 4, raising concerns over the possibility of further disruption in areas already affected by floods.

The IMD has also forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds of 50-60 kmph, with gusts reaching 70 kmph, at isolated places in these five districts on both days.

The warning for November 3 is valid from 8:30 am on November 3 to 8:30 am on November 4. The subsequent warning is valid from 8:30 am on November 4 to 8:30 am on November 5.

Also Read: Cyclone Murasu likely to form tomorrow, IMD says severe storm may hit Andhra coast on November 3

Depression likely to intensify into severe cyclonic storm
The depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a deep depression by midnight on October 31, develop into a cyclonic storm on November 1 and further strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm by November 2, the IMD said.

The system is expected to move west-northwestwards and reach the west-central Bay of Bengal near the south Andhra Pradesh coast by the early hours of November 3.

It is likely to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur by the morning of November 3 as a severe cyclonic storm, with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph and gusts reaching 120 kmph.

Cyclone to be named Murasu
If the depression intensifies into a cyclonic storm, it will be named Murasu, a name contributed by India to the list of tropical cyclone names for the North Indian Ocean.

Murasu refers to an ancient musical instrument, a drum traditionally used to disseminate information and alert people, including during natural disasters. The system would be the second cyclonic storm to form over the Bay of Bengal this year, following Cyclone Arnab.

The naming of tropical cyclones over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea is governed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Panel on Tropical Cyclones. The naming system began in 2004 and was subsequently expanded as more countries joined the panel.