Odisha floods: Over 170 villages inundated, IMD warns of heavy rain

More than 170 villages in Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts of North Odisha were under flood water for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, even as the IMD has warned of heavy rainfall in the next few days due to fresh low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, officials said.

While 130 villages under three blocks of Baliapal, Bhograi and Jaleswar were flooded by the water of river Subarnarekha, around 45 villages in Jajpur are inundated by Baitarani flood water. Dhamnagar and Bhandaripokhari blocks of Bhadrak district are also affected. Some villages in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts have also been hit by the flood, officials said.

"Jajpur district has been severely hit due to a breach on the embankment of Kani river, a tributary of Baitarani river. I am going to the affected areas in Jajpur," Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said, adding that relief and rescue operations are in full swing in affected districts.

The minister said many people have been evacuated and sheltered in relief camps in all affected districts. The people were being provided with cooked food, dry food and also fodder for cattle.

A report from Sundergarh district said that a trailer truck was swept away by strong floodwaters while crossing a bridge on Safei river in Sahajbahal area. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Sujit Aind is missing while the fire service personnel rescued the helper of the truck. A search operation is on to trace the missing driver.

As per the latest report, the water level of the Subarnarekha river at Rajghat was 10,70 metre above the danger mark of 10.36 metre. Similarly, the water level of Baitarani at Akhiapada was also flowing close to the danger mark, the official said, adding that the water level of other rivers was on a receding mode.

Meanwhile, the IMD said that a fresh low-pressure area has formed over the northwest Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast at 5.30 am on Tuesday, and it is likely to move west-northwestwards and become more marked during the next two days.

The weather agency has warned of isolated heavy rainfall in Odisha for four days. Heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur on August 26-27.

"Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph at one or two places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sonepur, Boudh, Nuapada and Bolangir," an official said quoting the IMD forecast.

The weather agency also issued a very heavy rain warning for the districts of Gajapati, Rayagada, Nayagarh and Kandhamal on August 26 and 27.