Odisha has witnessed strong and heavy rainfall due to low pressure in the catchment areas for an entire week. The rain-causing flood has led to trouble among the citizen of the state. Thousands of people were marooned as the Mahanadi river basin flooded. As per the preliminary data, over 2 lakh people have been hit by the flood and of them, around 26000 people have been evacuated, said PK Jena, Special Relief Commissioner. Due to heavy rainfall in the upper and lower catchment areas, the water level in the tributaries of the Mahanadi river has risen, as per the official.
The flood water flow is at its peak in the area of the Mundali barrage in Cuttack. But it is likely to flow towards the Mahanadi delta tonight, added Jena. Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, directed an evacuation for the people who are currently living in the low-lying area or flood-prone zone. “The CM has said that every life is precious for the state and all efforts should be made to ensure that not a single life is lost in the calamity,” the SRC said. The CM shows his concern towards the people of his state by directing necessary relief and other essentials to the affected people in the coastal districts. BK Mishra, Engineer in Chief, Water Resources Department has said that 40 gates of Hirakud reservoir have been opened to discharge the flood water.
Jena mentioned the flood situation in the Mahanadi river as a serious issue. He also said that the condition of the state is very critical for the next 48 to 72 hours. He said that there are two breakages found on the embankment of the Mahanadi river. These have occurred in Makara and Rajua streams in the Puri area. A 100 feet breach has happened in Rajua’s right bank. Authorities of the Water Resources department are involved in repairing the breaches. The flood greatly affected their lives and their belongings. It has entered villages and around 24,000 hectares of farmland have been hit. It has damaged about 700 residential houses.
The districts of Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, and Puri are overflowing with intense flood water. The government has ordered district collectors to shut down the educational institutions in flood-hit areas. The government has directed the hospital and health care department of the state to function without any interruption and provide medical aid to the people affected by the flood. They have also asked the energy department of the state to provide their service to the people at all times and take necessary measures in advance. A total of nine teams from NDRF and ODRAF along with 44 teams from the department of fire services have been authorized to the rescue operations. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), and Odisha Fire Service have jointly launched a rescue operation to save a total number of 600 trapped school children in a private institute at Gatiroutpatna in the district of Cuttack. The rescue team was successful in saving the lives of 450 children. The lives of people have suddenly been disrupted due to the unforeseen situation of flood.
The Meteorological department has warned regarding an extremely heavy downpour of over 204 mm mainly in the parts of Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur, and Sambalpur due to the formation of low pressure over the northern Bay of Bengal by Friday which could bring in widespread and heavy rain.
