Cyclones in Andhra Pradesh

Cyclone Murasu (IMD designation BOB/09/2026), the ninth Bay of Bengal system of 2026, formed as a Depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal at 1130 IST on 31 October 2026 near 10.0°N, 90.2°E, about 330 km west-southwest of Sri Vijayapuram. Moving west-northwestwards, it intensified into a Deep Depression and then Cyclonic Storm Murasu on 1 November, and into a Severe Cyclonic Storm over the westcentral Bay of Bengal on 2 November, with a lowest estimated central pressure of 994 hPa. Slowing to 8-9 km/h as it neared land, it crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole (near 15.5°N, 80.2°E), between 0330 and 0530 IST on 3 November as a Severe Cyclonic Storm, with maximum sustained winds of 100-110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h and IMD warning of a 1.0-1.5 m storm surge over Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts. Moving slowly north-northwestwards over land, it weakened into a Cyclonic Storm at 1430 IST and a Deep Depression at 2030 IST on 3 November. Turning northwards, it weakened into a Depression over east Telangana and adjoining coastal Andhra Pradesh at 0530 IST on 4 November, near Khammam, and into a Well Marked Low Pressure Area at 1130 IST that day. It became a Low Pressure Area early on 5 November and was less marked by 0830 IST. Bapatla recorded 22 cm of rain in the 24 hours to 0830 IST on 3 November; over the next two days the heaviest rain moved north, with 24 cm at Mulakalapalle and 34 cm at Aswaraopeta in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Telangana, and 21-22 cm at Palakoderu (West Godavari) and Eluru in Andhra Pradesh. At least two deaths were reported in Andhra Pradesh, where crops over about 52,000 hectares were affected and more than 35 trains were cancelled. Murasu struck less than a week after Cyclone Arnab hit the same coast. The name Murasu was proposed by India and means "drum" in Tamil.

Cyclone Arnab (IMD designation BOB/08/2026) formed as a Depression over the eastcentral and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal on 25 October 2026. It intensified into a Deep Depression and then Cyclonic Storm Arnab, and on the night of 26 October became a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm over the westcentral Bay of Bengal. It crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts southwest of Yanam, about 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, early on 28 October as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm with maximum sustained winds of 125-135 km/h gusting to 150 km/h, and weakened into a Severe Cyclonic Storm over land that morning. Moving north-northwest and then north into south Chhattisgarh, it weakened into a Deep Depression late on 28 October and a Depression by the morning of 29 October, bringing extremely heavy rain to south Odisha. Its remnant weakened into a well-marked low pressure area over central Chhattisgarh later on 29 October and into a low pressure area over north Chhattisgarh and adjoining East Madhya Pradesh by the morning of 30 October, after bringing up to 280 mm of rain to Kusmi in Balrampur district, Chhattisgarh. The rain caused river flooding in Gajapati district, where the Mahendratanaya overflowed into villages in Goshani block and a bridge collapsed in Mohana block, pushed the Vamsadhara above its danger mark, and swelled rivers flowing into Chhattisgarh. In Andhra Pradesh about 2.24 lakh hectares of crops, mostly paddy in the Godavari delta districts, were inundated or damaged. At least five deaths were reported in Andhra Pradesh, along with widespread damage to trees, power lines, roads, houses and crops. The name Arnab was proposed by Bangladesh.

A system tracked over the Bay of Bengal in September 2026, upgraded from a Well Marked Low Pressure Area to a Depression on 21 September and to a Deep Depression on 22 September. It crossed the north Andhra Pradesh coast near Kalingapatnam (Srikakulam) around midnight on 23-24 September as a Deep Depression, never reaching cyclonic-storm intensity. It weakened back into a Depression over south interior Odisha and adjoining south Chhattisgarh (near Nuapada) by the morning of 25 September and dissipated soon after. The system was never named; the next name on the WMO/ESCAP North Indian Ocean list remains Arnab, proposed by Bangladesh.

Cyclonic Storm Ditwah formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal on 26 November 2025 and intensified from a depression to a cyclonic storm in under 24 hours before crossing Sri Lanka's eastern coast on 28 November. Its winds were only moderate (65-75 km/h at landfall), but the storm moved slowly, dropping prolonged, extreme rainfall that triggered severe flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka - the deadliest impact of any storm in this archive outside the 1999 Odisha cyclone and Nargis. A World Bank rapid damage assessment recorded 647 deaths, 183 people still missing, and over 4 billion US dollars in damage, with parts of southern India also placed under alert.

Cyclonic Storm Fengal formed over the Bay of Bengal in late November 2024 and made landfall near Puducherry on the evening of 30 November, with winds of 70-80 km/h gusting to 90 km/h. It then stalled over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry rather than weakening quickly inland, dropping record rainfall (over 48 cm in 24 hours in Puducherry, the highest in three decades) that caused most of the flooding damage. It killed at least 37 people across India and Sri Lanka combined.

Severe Cyclonic Storm Michaung moved slowly along the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coasts and crossed near Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh on 5 December 2023 with winds of 90-100 km/h. Its heavy rain, more than its wind, caused severe flooding, especially in and around Chennai, and the storm caused 17 deaths and about 1.32 billion US dollars in damage.

Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani was notable for its unusual northward track along India's east coast. The Odisha government's massive evacuation effort - moving 1.2 million people to safety - was praised internationally. The storm devastated Puri and surrounding areas.

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Titli made landfall near Palasa in Andhra Pradesh, close to the Odisha border, in the early hours of 11 October 2018 with sustained winds of 140-150 km/h. Heavy rain and flooding after landfall caused most of the damage across northern Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, damaging more than 127,000 houses.

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vardah made landfall near Chennai, causing significant damage to infrastructure and uprooting thousands of trees. The storm affected power supply and telecommunications across Tamil Nadu.

Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Hudhud caused extensive damage to Visakhapatnam and surrounding areas. The storm's powerful winds and storm surge led to significant infrastructure damage and power outages affecting millions.

Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Phailin was one of the strongest cyclones to hit India. Thanks to lessons learned from the 1999 cyclone, casualties were kept remarkably low. Nearly 1 million people were evacuated, and the disaster response was considered a model for other countries.