Fresh floods hit six Odisha districts, over 41,000 people evacuated

Fresh floods triggered by heavy rainfall have affected six Odisha districts, with over 41,000 people relocated from 429 villages. Authorities deployed 79 rescue teams and opened relief centres as rivers crossed danger levels, while the IMD forecast more heavy rainfall

Bhubaneswar/Balasore/Baripada: Fresh floods triggered by two days of heavy rainfall have affected at least six districts of Odisha, prompting authorities to move more than 41,000 people, officials said on Friday.

Floodwater has affected 429 villages in 52 blocks across Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts, according to an official statement. The immediate priorities of the administration are to reach cut-off habitations and ensure the supply of cooked food, safe drinking water, medicines and other essentials, it said.

---

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Rajesh Kumar Patil said more than 127 relief centres had been opened to provide cooked food, drinking water, medicines and other necessities. Rising water levels in the Jalaka and Budhabalanga rivers have caused flooding in Balasore town and parts of Basta and Bhograi, where relief materials are being provided, Patil said.

The Balasore district administration has also been alerted as the Subarnarekha river continues to rise, he said. “As many as 79 rescue teams, including 39 of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), seven of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 33 fire service teams, have been deployed in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts,” he said.

Keonjhar has also reported flooding following a rise in the Baitarani river due to heavy rainfall, another official said. The Jalaka in Balasore has already crossed the danger mark, while the Baitarani is in a full flood situation and the Subarnarekha is steadily rising, officials said.

The flood threat in north Odisha is expected to persist even if the rain subsides, they added. Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Dilip Raut said heavy rainfall over the past two days had caused water levels in the Baitarani and Subarnarekha to rise, affecting low-lying areas, with roads submerged at several places, farmlands inundated and floodwater entering houses in some villages.

The Water Resources Department is closely monitoring the Baitarani, which has inundated low-lying areas of Bhadrak and Jajpur. The Subarnarekha is currently flowing around two metres below the danger mark, but its rising level has raised concerns that Basta, Baliapal and Jaleswar in Balasore could be severely affected if the river rises further.

Raut said the Jalaka and Subarnarekha were causing flooding in Balasore, the Baitarani and Salandi in Bhadrak, and the Baitarani in Jajpur. More than 1,600 hectares of agricultural land have been submerged, he said.

In Mayurbhanj, floodwater from the Budhabalanga has entered low-lying areas of Baripada municipality, prompting the administration to move residents to safer locations, an official said. Around four feet of water was flowing over a bridge at Sarumula in Rasgovindpur block, disrupting traffic. The Baripada-Amarda Road has also been affected.

The Budhabalanga was also flowing over the Kaliami Bridge in Bangiriposi, the official said. Jajpur district witnessed its fourth round of flooding this monsoon after water levels in the Baitarani and its tributary Kani rose, an official said. Floodwater from the Kani entered several villages after a breach at Dovabil Patana in Tarpada panchayat, inundating villages and severely affecting road connectivity, he said.

The district has been experiencing repeated flooding for more than a month, with the first deluge reported on July 6, followed by another on July 18, a third on August 8 and the latest on August 13, the official said. The IMD, meanwhile, issued an orange warning for Sundargarh, Bargarh, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall till 8.30 am on Saturday.

Heavy rainfall was also forecast in 14 other districts. The IMD also warned of squally winds reaching 40-50 kmph along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coast during the next 12 hours. As sea conditions are likely to remain rough, fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Bay of Bengal until the morning of August 15.