Chennai and Surrounding Districts Suspend Classes Due to Cyclone Murasu

District administrations in Chennai and Thiruvallur declared a holiday for all schools and colleges on Monday, November 2, 2026, as a precautionary measure against approaching severe weather. The closures were implemented to protect students and staff from potential hazards associated with severe conditions.

The Regional Meteorological Centre issued an orange alert for both Chennai and Thiruvallur districts, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall. Chennai District Collector S. Malathi Helan announced the suspension of classes, while Thiruvallur District Collector Kavitha confirmed a similar closure in her district due to cyclone-related heavy precipitation.

The severe weather is driven by Cyclone Murasu, which the India Meteorological Department (IMD) tracked moving over the west-central Bay of Bengal. Meteorological officials warned that North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry would experience sustained winds ranging from 60 to 70 kilometers per hour, with gusts reaching up to 80 kilometers per hour from Monday evening through Tuesday morning.

While educational institutions in Chennai and Thiruvallur remained shut, parents and students in neighboring districts such as Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram awaited official word regarding potential closures. Officials advised families to rely strictly on official announcements from respective district collectors rather than unverified forwarded messages.

Cyclone Murasu is projected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm before making landfall along the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole. The IMD forecasted maximum sustained winds between 100 and 110 kilometers per hour, gusting up to 120 kilometers per hour, during the landfall window between late Monday night and the early hours of Tuesday.

The broader storm system has triggered widespread alerts across multiple states, including red and orange warnings for coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, and Telangana. Neighboring Odisha responded by evacuating over 160,000 people and deploying emergency disaster response teams across vulnerable southern districts.

Authorities across the affected regions have activated disaster response protocols, with emergency services placed on high alert to handle potential waterlogging, structural damage, and power outages. Further announcements regarding the reopening of schools are expected once the storm system has fully crossed the coast and conditions are thoroughly evaluated.