Flood-like situation in 3 districts of Odisha; govt starts evacuation of affected people

Bhubaneswar | Water from swollen rivers entered low-lying areas in Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts of Odisha, creating a flood-like situation, officials said on Sunday.

Subarnarekha, Baitarani and Jalka rivers were flowing at or above the danger level, a senior government officer said.

Briefing reporters here, Chandra Sekhar Padhi, engineer-in-chief of the Water Resources Department, said Baitarani River was flowing at 19.09 metres at 2 am on Sunday, crossing the danger level of 18.33 metres. The river water started showing a declining trend early this morning and was flowing at 18.54 metres. The swollen river caused a flood-like situation in some parts of Bhadrak and Jajpur districts, he said.

Floodwaters entered habitations in Dhamnagar area in Bhadrak district as the water level of Baitarani crossed the danger level, he added.

Similarly, the water level in Jalaka River was 6.67 metres at Mathani, against the danger level of 6.50 metres. However, the water has started showing a declining trend, he said.

Subarnarekha River was flowing at 10.2 metres against the danger level of 10.36 metres at Rajghat in Balasore district.

"We expect the water level to rise to 11.4 metres by Sunday night. Bhogari, Baliapal, Basta, and Jaleswar blocks of Balasore district would be affected by floodwaters due to the rise in water level," he said.

Padhi ruled out the possibility of any major flood situation in the state as the amount of rainfall in the state has dipped. Not a single block has received over 50 mm of rainfall on Saturday, he added.

Flood-like situation in 3 districts of Odisha; govt starts evacuation of affected people

In a statement, the government said people residing in low-lying areas have been taken to safe locations by the district administrations.

The collectors of Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore have been alerted to expedite the evacuation and relief operation as and when required to handle the local flood situation, the statement said.

A state flood cell in the Department of Water Resources is functioning 24x7 and the situation is being closely monitored. Two chief engineer rank officers have been deputed to the Subarnarekha and Baitarani river basins to monitor the situation on the ground, it said.

Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj inspected various sites of Baitarani embankment in Bhadrak district, while Jajpur collector and other senior officials have inspected the vulnerable locations at Nuapatna of Dasarathpur block.

A breach on the right bank of Jambhira River embankment at Bodhi in Rasgovindpur block of Mayurbhanj district was detected. The breach was closed with sandbags, the statement said.

In view of heavy rainfall, land sliding occurred in Sundargarh district, blocking the Koida-Chunaghati stretch of NH-520. Upon receiving information about the landslide, the department concerned removed the debris from the blocked section and cleared the highway, officials added.