Bhubaneswar:
With incessant torrential rains claiming three lives and posing a flood threat in Mahanadi river and other rivers in Odisha, the state government on Monday alerted 12 districts to gear up for any eventuality as heavy downpour is likely to pound some areas due to a deep depression.
Collectors of 12 districts were asked to remain watchful and take all steps to deal with the possible flood, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra told reporters after the situation was reviewed at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar.
Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Cuttack, Boudh, Nayagarh and Keonjhar districts were put on alert, he said.
The Chief Minister stressed the need to evacuate people from low lying areas in time and make arrangements for free cooked food and relief, Mr Mohapatra said, adding vulnerable points in river embankments would be kept under vigil and steps will be taken to ensure availability of drinking water and medicines.
As continuous torrential rain in different parts of the state posed flood situation in Mahanadi, Baitarani, Budhabalanga and other rivers, fire service units in the districts are to be deployed for evacuation operation, SRC office said in a statement.
Eight NDRF teams were sent to Keonjhar, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Puri districts to assist in rescue and relief work, it said, adding 10 ODRAF units were deployed in Cuttack, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Bhadrak and Balasore districts.
Nearly 10 lakh cusec water was flowing in Mahanadi at Munduli and water level in the river was recorded at 26.59 metre, slightly above the danger mark of 26.41 mt, it said.
Similarly, Baitarani river was also flowing above the danger level at Andandpur and Akhuapada, it said.
While one person died in wall collapse in Boudh district yesterday, another drowned in Sambalpur district and one more in Kandhamal, SRC office said.
The Met office said the low pressure over Gangetic West Bengal first intensified into a depression and then deep depression and lay centered over Jharkhand and neighbourhood.
Under its impact, rain and thundershower would occur at most places over Odisha during next 24 hours, it said.
Similarly, isolated extremely heavy rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places over north Odisha and heavy rainfall at one or two places over south Odisha would occur in next 24 hours, it said.
Gusty surface wind speed reaching 45 to 55 kmph gusting upto 65 kmph may prevail along and off Odisha coast, the Met office said advising fishermen not to venture into sea.
The deep depression is likely to trigger heavy rains particularly in four districts of Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Keonjhar and Sundargarh till Tuesday. As a result, fear of floods may arise in rivers like Budhabalang and Subarnerekha, SRC office said.
As heavy rains pounded many parts of the state over the last three days, several areas were inundated and submerged, the SRC said, adding normal life was thrown out of gear in Sambalpur which received over 350 mm rainfall during a very short span on Monday.
Over 4,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas in Sambalpur to safe places and as many as 22 free kitchen centres opened for them, Mr Mohapatra said.
"While there is no need for worry, some areas like Athagarh and Banki in Cuttack district and parts of Nayagarh and Boudh may be flooded with backwaters," he said.
Road communication in Kalahandi district has been hit with flood water of river Hati submerging a bridge at Junagarh since last evening.
Incessant rains also wreaked havoc in urban centres including the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur where many low-lying areas were submerged paralysing normal life and vehicular traffic.
A report from Balasore said a large number of people have been marooned several villages of the district as water level in Jalaka, Kansabansa and Sono rivers have crossed their danger levels and flood water has entered many areas.
Two major rivers in Subarnarekha and Budhabalang are gradually rising and to take stock of the flood situation, Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak visited the area.
In Bhadrak, incessant rain has thrown normal life out of gear in the district leaving river Salandi and its tributary Nalia in spate.
Train services in East Coast Railway (ECoR) Zone was partially disrupted as rain water continued to flow between Saragipali and Handapa stations in Angul-Sambalpur section and landslide between Keutguda and Sikarpai stations in Rayagada-Koraput Railway Section.
As mud, boulder and tree blocked railway track in hill areas, some trains have been cancelled and short-terminated, an ECoR release said.