The water level of Jalka in Mathani stood at 5.68 at 6 pm on Monday, while its danger level was 5.5 meters and it could lead to flood situation in seven gram panchayat areas of Balasore district, the official said.
Record heavy rainfall in Odisha in 24 hours has claimed at least three lives, affected more than 19.53 lakh people, and caused widespread flooding in 11 districts, prompting authorities on Monday to People had to be motivated to evacuate from the areas.
Capital Bhubaneswar received 195 mm of rain in 24 hours, breaking a 63-year-old record, while the pilgrimage town of Puri recorded 341 mm of rain, the highest in 88 years, raining large parts of the state during this period. Hui. They said.
Officials said the city of Pilgrim had received 210.8 mm of rain on September 2, 1934.
A senior official in the Office of the Special Relief Commissioner said that the heavy rains due to pressure in the Bay of Bengal in the last three days have caused havoc in at least 53 blocks spread over 11 districts of the state.
He said that more than 19.53 lakh people have been affected in 2,789 villages and 14 urban local bodies.
“As per the preliminary reports received from the districts, three casualties have been reported. Two people have died due to wall collapse in Kendrapara district and one in Khurda district due to drowning. A detailed investigation is on by the district administration,” the official said. .
He said that there are reports that another person got washed away in a drain near Salipur in Cuttack district and the officials are confirming the same.
As rains lashed most parts of the densely populated coastal region of the state, the administration evacuated 3,819 people from low-lying areas till Monday evening and provided cooked and dry food to those evacuated in different shelters.
As per preliminary assessment, 265 kutcha houses have been damaged while 24 villages have been submerged. Twenty villages in Koraput district have been submerged in floods, while three are in coastal Puri and one in Cuttack.
The state government has declared a two-day holiday in all the schools located in the rain-affected districts. An official said that it has also canceled the holidays and holidays of officials of the Water Resources Department till the situation improves. The rain water has entered a large number of houses in the affected districts, the official said.
Officials said Konark’s famous Sun Temple is knee-deep in water, forcing the administration to use pump sets to remove water from its extensive premises.
He said that rain water has also entered Kedar-Gauri temple, Baital temple in Bhubaneswar and Akandalmani temple in Bhadrak district. The cities of Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Puri and Paradip were the scene of destruction due to the incessant rains. Vehicles were seen floating near the ISKCON temple in the state capital’s Nayapalli area, where houses and markets were flooded.
An ambulance, stuck on its way to a hospital in Bhubaneswar’s Old Town area, was seen being pushed into a dry stretch of road by locals. Locals said that some houses in Dumuduma area built on the farm have developed cracks.
Waterlogging was reported from several areas of Bhubaneswar as the state capital recorded 195 mm of rain in 24 hours till 8.30 am on Monday. The city broke its 63-year-old record when the city received 163 mm of rain on September 9, 1958.
A large part of Cuttack city also got waterlogged and rain water entered many houses. LPG cylinders, plastic chairs, utensils and other household items were seen floating like paper boats while accumulated rainwater entered the Acharya Harihar Cancer Institute.
An official said that the ceiling plaster of the surgery unit of SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack fell, but fortunately none of the patients or the attendant felt it.
Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) commissioner Ananya Das said 200 pump sets are draining water from low-lying areas and dry food is being provided to people in the affected areas. Odisha has been receiving heavy rains for the past few days due to deep pressure.
The official said several roads in the affected 11 districts like Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Cuttack, Jajpur, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Khurda and Angul were washed away due to the heavy rains.
The Central Water Commission has warned of the possibility of floods after the rains. But Dhiren Kumar Samal, Engineer-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department, said most of the reservoirs have less than 50 per cent of their capacity.
The Hirakud reservoir is filled up to 78 per cent, while the Rengali dam has the highest at 83 per cent. The remaining six major dams are only 50 per cent complete. “Also, most of the river basins are in good condition. Hence, there is no possibility of floods as of now. However, we are keeping a close watch on the developing situation,” Samal said.
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He said that the Water Resources Department has identified some sensitive points on the banks of the river and strict vigil is being maintained to avoid any violation.
Samal said that the lower basin of rivers in districts like Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khordha, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Boudh, Jajpur, Subarnapur has already received an average of more than 100 mm of rainfall, but no river has exceeded the danger level. has not crossed. Except for Jalaka.
The water level of Jalka in Mathani stood at 5.68 at 6 pm on Monday, while its danger level was 5.5 meters and it could lead to flood situation in seven gram panchayat areas of Balasore district, the official said.
Meanwhile, the IMD in its latest bulletin issued at 8 pm said that the deep pressure over North Odisha has moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 13 kmph during the last six hours and is now centered near Keonjhargarh.
“It is very likely to move west-northwestwards over North Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh during the next 48 hours. It is very likely to weaken into a depression during the next 12 hours.”
In the morning, the deep pressure had crossed the coast near Chandbali in Bhadrak district, causing widespread rain in the coastal region of the state.
The IMD in its forecast at 8.30 am on Tuesday has issued a ‘Red’ warning, predicting heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall at Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Sonepur, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda and Bargarh. All these districts are located in the upper Mahanadi basin.
It issued an ‘orange’ warning (heavy to very heavy rainfall) in Bolangir, Sundergarh, Boudh, Keonjhar, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Kendrapara, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Cuttack districts. All the districts are situated in the lower basin of Mahanadi, Baitarani, Brahmani, Budhabalang and Subarnarekha.
A ‘yellow’ warning (heavy rain) has been predicted in Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Nayagarh and Mayurbhanj districts.
In the last 24 hours, Puri received 341 mm of rain, followed by Paradip 219 mm, Gopalpur 64 mm, Chandbali 46 mm and Balasore 24 mm, the Met Office said.
The Met Office has asked all the ports to hoist the Local Warning Sign – III as the sea is rough.
Read also | Heavy rain, flood warning issued in Odisha: Met Office
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