Odisha flood situation worsens; 3 dead

The Odisha government on Monday asked the local administration of three districts to evacuate people from low-lying areas as flood situation in different parts of the state deteriorated further following heavy rain during the last four days.

There three districts affected districts are Keonjhar and Bhadrak in north Odisha and Jajpur in the coastal region.

A number of villages and urban areas in these three districts have been affected because of floods in Baitarani, a major river which is flowing above the danger mark.

Death toll

The official flood toll in the state stood at three by Monday evening.

“The collectors of the three districts have been directed to provide all possible help to the flood affected people. They have been asked to evacuate people from low-lying areas.

The ODRAF (Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force) teams have already been sent to the three districts to assist the local administration,” Special Relief Commissioner(SRC), Pradipta Mohapatra said after a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Floods have also occurred in other rivers like Bamsadhara, Jalaka, Hati, Subarnarekha and Budhabalanga. In fact, Bamsadhar in south Odisha and Jalaka in the north were flowing above the danger mark.

Vehicular traffic on a busy highway in western Odisha Kalahandi district were severely hit as the flood water of river Hati submerged a bridge near Junagarh town of the district. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the bridge.

The flood situation may worsen further as the local met office has already predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in many parts of the state during the next 24 hours.