Thousands evacuated as India braces for second cyclone in a week

Authorities in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh have begun evacuating residents from low-lying coastal areas as Cyclone Murasu bears down on a region still recovering from a deadly cyclone last week. About 2,000 people had been evacuated by Monday, Prakhar Jain, managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, told the Reuters news agency. “We are planning to evacuate some 30,000 people,” he said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the cyclone was likely to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur near the town of Ongole from 11:30pm (18:00 GMT) on Monday to 4am on Tuesday (22:30 GMT on Monday).