Water released from Hirakud dam; low-lying areas of 5

After water level in the reservoir of the Hirakud dam rose considerably on Friday, excess water was released from it leading to inundation of low-lying areas in five districts of Odisha, officials said.

Heavy rain in the upper catchment areas of the Mahanadi river increased the water level of the reservoir.

"Twelve of the 64 sluice gates were open in the evening as the water level at Hirakud dam touched 638.33 feet as against the full reservoir level of 630 feet," he said.

While five sluice gates were open till Friday morning, seven more gates were opened in phases during the day.

The inflow of water at Hirakud dam was 2,52,199 cusec and outflow 2,16,380 cusec at 6 PM on Friday, while the flow of water at Munduli in Cuttack was measured at 3,26,790 cusec, the official said.

Several low-lying areas in Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts were submerged by water from small distributaries of Mahanadi river following the release of excess water from Hirakud dam.

However, the Mahanadi and other major rivers in Odisha were flowing below the danger level and there is no fear of flood at this stage, the official said.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Centre here said light to moderate rainfall may lash many parts of Odisha till September 18 under the impact of the cyclonic circulation which now lies over Jharkhand and its neighbourhood.

While the intensity of rainfall in the state subsided, thunderstorm with lightning is likely to occur at some places in Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Boudh, Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts on Saturday.

Odisha is being battered by heavy rain in different spells due to five low-pressure areas formed over the Bay of Bengal since August. South and west Odisha were also hit by flash floods due to incessant rain last month.