Cyclone Murasu is the cyclonic storm the India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed has formed over the Bay of Bengal, after a deep depression intensified overnight. IMD’s latest bulletin places the system’s winds in the 62-88 km/h range, with further strengthening likely over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Key Takeaways
- The IMD upgraded a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal into Cyclone Murasu, the latest named storm of the 2026 cyclone season.
- Coastal districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu have been placed on alert as the system tracks further.
- Fishing communities and low-lying hamlets — often the last to get a working loudspeaker or a pucca cyclone shelter — face the sharpest risk.
- IMD has asked fishermen not to venture into the Bay of Bengal until the storm clears, and district administrations have begun evacuation drills.
What Is Cyclone Murasu and Where Is It Right Now?
Cyclone Murasu began life as a low-pressure area that the IMD tracked through last week, before it thickened into a depression and then a deep depression over the southwest and west-central Bay of Bengal. Once sustained wind speeds crossed the cyclonic-storm threshold, the IMD assigned it the name Murasu, drawn from the regional naming list that India shares with its neighbours.
As of the latest bulletin, the system sits over the Bay of Bengal, moving on a track that IMD forecasters are still refining. That uncertainty matters — a shift of even fifty kilometres in the projected landfall point can mean the difference between a district getting a cyclone shelter opened in time and one finding out too late.
How Did Cyclone Murasu Form Over the Bay of Bengal?
The Bay of Bengal is warmer and shallower than the Arabian Sea, which is exactly why it spins up more cyclones each year. Warm sea-surface temperatures, weak wind shear and a pocket of low pressure gave Cyclone Murasu the fuel it needed to go from a depression to a deep depression in roughly a day, and from there to a cyclonic storm.
This is a familiar pattern for the October-to-December window, which is traditionally the Bay of Bengal’s busiest cyclone stretch. Odisha’s coast, Andhra Pradesh’s Godavari and Krishna delta districts, and parts of north Tamil Nadu have all taken direct hits from systems born the same way in recent years.
Which States and Coastal Districts Are on Alert for Cyclone Murasu?
State disaster management authorities in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have issued advisories to district collectors along the coast, and the IMD’s regional centres in Bhubaneswar and Chennai are issuing fresh bulletins through the day. Fishermen have been told to stay off the Bay of Bengal, and ports have been asked to review their warning-signal status.
- Odisha: Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts on watch.
- Andhra Pradesh: Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam coastal mandals alerted.
- Tamil Nadu: northern coastal districts tracking the system as a precaution.
- West Bengal: South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore fishing harbours issued caution notices.
How Strong Can Cyclone Murasu Get? IMD’s Cyclone Intensity Scale
The IMD classifies every Bay of Bengal system on a fixed wind-speed scale. Cyclone Murasu currently sits at the “cyclonic storm” stage, but if sea conditions keep feeding it, it could move up a notch or two before any landfall.
| Category | Sustained Wind Speed |
| Depression | 31-49 km/h |
| Deep Depression | 50-61 km/h |
| Cyclonic Storm (current stage of Murasu) | 62-88 km/h |
| Severe Cyclonic Storm | 89-117 km/h |
| Very Severe Cyclonic Storm | 118-165 km/h |
| Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm | 166-220 km/h |
| Super Cyclonic Storm | Above 220 km/h |
For the full technical bulletins and the latest cyclone track, the IMD’s official cyclone warning page is the primary source and updates several times a day.
Who Gets Left Out When Cyclone Murasu’s Warnings Go Out?
This is the part the bulletins don’t say out loud. When Cyclone Murasu’s advisories go out, they travel fastest to resort hotels, port authorities and administrative headquarters. They travel slowest to the Dalit and Most Backward Class fishing hamlets tucked behind sand dunes in Ganjam or Srikakulam, where the nearest pucca cyclone shelter can be a two-kilometre walk on a flooding road.
In Odisha, the state’s own disaster-management framework, built after the 1999 super cyclone, is genuinely one of India’s better ones. But shelter access still tracks land ownership. Fishermen’s colonies built on revenue land without formal title often sit outside the radius the local tehsildar counts when issuing evacuation orders, because the land itself is officially “encroached,” even when the people on it have fished that coast for three generations.
The same gap shows up in who gets a warning text message at all. Smartphone penetration in these hamlets lags the district average, and the old-style mikes-and-megaphones drill depends on panchayat staff who may or may not prioritise the poorer wards first. Cyclone Murasu will test, again, whether the NDRF and state machinery close that gap before the storm does.
What Should Coastal Residents Do Now?
- Follow official IMD and State Disaster Management Authority bulletins only — avoid forwarded WhatsApp forecasts.
- If you live within the designated evacuation zone, move to the nearest cyclone shelter when local officials announce it, don’t wait for the wind to pick up.
- Secure loose roofing, boats and fishing nets; charge phones and power banks in advance.
- Keep dry rations, drinking water and essential medicines ready for at least 72 hours.
- Fishermen should not go to sea until the IMD withdraws its warning for the Bay of Bengal.
FAQ
Is Cyclone Murasu expected to make landfall in India?
The IMD’s track for Cyclone Murasu is still being updated, and the eventual landfall point — or whether it curves away from the coast — depends on how the system behaves over the next couple of days. Residents should rely on the latest IMD bulletin rather than early projections.
Which states will Cyclone Murasu affect the most?
Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal’s coastal districts are the ones currently on alert, since the system is tracking across the Bay of Bengal within range of this stretch of coastline.
How is Cyclone Murasu different from a deep depression?
A deep depression has sustained winds of 50-61 km/h; once winds cross 62 km/h, the IMD classifies and names the system as a cyclonic storm — which is how the depression became Cyclone Murasu.
Where can I check live updates on Cyclone Murasu?
The IMD issues bulletins several times a day on its official site, and state disaster management authorities publish parallel advisories for their coastal districts.
Who names cyclones like Murasu?
Names for Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea cyclones come from a rotating list agreed upon by India and twelve other countries in the region, under a World Meteorological Organisation framework.
Conclusion
Cyclone Murasu is still evolving, and the IMD’s next few bulletins will decide how seriously coastal India needs to brace. The storm itself doesn’t discriminate — but the speed of the warning that reaches a fishing hamlet versus a beachfront hotel still does, and that gap is worth watching as closely as the wind speed.