​​​​​​​Bhubaneswar / New Delhi, November 2: As Cyclone Murasu intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed 37 teams across five states to tackle possible emergencies, with special focus on coastal Andhra Pradesh, where 13 teams have been stationed.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclone is expected to make landfall between Nellore and Narsapur around midnight, with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph and gusts reaching up to 120 kmph.

Mohsen Shahedi, Deputy Inspector General (Operations/PRO) of the NDRF, said extensive preparations were underway to deal with the potential impact of the cyclone. He added that high-level meetings had been held with various stakeholders to coordinate disaster response measures.

Shahedi said the cyclone intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Sunday morning. Following a meeting convened by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Saturday evening, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also held a coordination meeting with concerned stakeholders to finalise the deployment strategy.

A total of 37 NDRF teams have been deployed across five states, including 13 teams in Andhra Pradesh, considering the state's vulnerability to the approaching storm.

Meanwhile, the IMD has issued heavy to extremely heavy rainfall warnings for several districts of Andhra Pradesh over the next 48 hours.

Visakhapatnam Meteorological Centre Director PLN Murthy said extremely heavy rainfall is likely in Bapatla, Prakasam, Nellore, Tirupati and Chittoor districts. Heavy to very heavy rainfall has also been forecast for Krishna, Guntur, Eluru, East Godavari, West Godavari, Palnadu, NTR, Annamayya and Nandyal districts.

Providing the forecast for the following day, Murthy said extremely heavy rainfall is likely over Chittoor, Tirupati, Nellore, Prakasam, Palnadu and NTR districts.

Very heavy rainfall is also expected in Annamayya, YSR Kadapa, Kurnool, Nandyal, Bapatla, Guntur, Krishna, Eluru and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts. Other districts are likely to receive light to moderate rainfall, with isolated heavy spells.

Authorities are closely monitoring the situation and have stepped up preparedness measures to minimise the impact of the severe cyclonic storm.