Cyclone Murasu nears Andhra coast as evacuations begin

Cyclone Murasu was forecast to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast late November 2 or early November 3, with authorities evacuating residents and transport services disrupted ahead of its expected arrival. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of winds reaching 100 to 110 km/h, with gusts up to 120 km/h, near landfall. The IMD forecast the storm to cross between Nellore and Narsapur, near Ongole. Its Monday bulletin placed the cyclone over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 160 kilometres east-southeast of Nellore, moving northwest at around 22 km/h. The landfall timing and impacts remained forecasts as of Monday. Andhra Pradesh authorities had evacuated about 2,000 people from vulnerable coastal areas and planned to move around 30,000 more, according to a report citing officials. Cyclone shelters had opened, with food, milk and drinking water to be provided to residents whose homes might flood. Transport cancellations were also reported ahead of the storm. Eleven flights at Chennai airport and 19 domestic flights across Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati airports were cancelled, along with nine trains. IndiGo warned passengers of possible flight delays at...