The grim situation of Odisha has continued to descend lower with the floods. Over 2.5 lakhs inhabitants of over 10 districts of the state have been affected while more than 27,000 evacuated so far by the never ending rains and flood caused due to it.
After constant scorching heat for more than 2 months the state of Odisha didn’t get the promised relief from the rain. The ever-so-wished-rain brought with itself great floods which affected so many lives and continues to do so. Heavy rains broke out in the upper and lower catchment areas. This resulted in the brimming of the river Mahanadi beyond its extent.
Currently, 18 teams are working together in the rescue mission of the affected villagers. They’re also inspecting the flood prone areas. P K Jena, the special relief commissioner gave the outlook of the situation and the rescue mission.
“Out of the 64 sluice gates of the Hirakud Dam, 40 have been opened.The peak flood has passed and we are keeping a close watch on the developing situation. We have stationed 18 teams of ODRAF [Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force] and NDRF [National Disaster Response Force] and 44 teams of fire personnel for rescue operations,” said Jena.
Affect
The evacuation of people from the districts and affected areas is a continuous process going on in the state.
Flood waters entered 1366 villages, 9 urban local bodies and agricultural land of the state which included Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Puri districts. It was also informed that around 24,000 hectares of farmland in 237 villages have been marooned.
The floods have severely disrupted the traffic on the Khurda-Bolangir highway at Baghamari along with many general highways. The rain has been ongoing for more than 5 days in Odisha. It is expected to go further, as informed by an official on Wednesday.
“The water level in Hirakud Dam stands at 626.47 feet against the full reservoir level of 630 feet. The reading at Mundali barrage near Cuttack declined to 11,77,024 cusecs against 12 lakh cusecs on Tuesday. We expect this water level to continue for another 24 hours,” Engineer in Chief, Water Resources Department, B K Mishra, said.
Even a ‘yellow warning‘ for heavy rainfall has been imposed in 10 districts of north coastal Odisha on Wednesday.
