“In the next 24 hours, heavy rainfall is expected in 7 districts including Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Cuttack, Khordha, Puri & Sambalpur, along with thunderstorms & lightning in a few districts. Thereafter rainfall is expected to reduce," said Umashankar Das, Senior Scientist at IMD.
According to experts, this year Odisha has received 5% more rain than normal. The state received total rains of 1140.9 mm rains as against the normal 1091.1 mm. Kandhamal district is on the top of the list with the highest rainfall of 1649.9 mm which is a surplus of 51% more than normal.
Apart from Kandhamal, at least four other districts- Dhenkanal, Boudh, Gajapati and Koraput reported excess rainfall, while 25 districts of the state received normal rainfall.
Yesterday, three people were killed as the heavy rains poured into the districts of Ganjam, Boudh and Angul. According to the reports, Balia Dakua and Jagannath Sethy have swept away in the heavy currents of the Ghodahada river in Ganjam while Pramod Bhakta drowned in the Laxmi nullah.
Odisha evacuating people amid flood threat in northern districts
Odisha administration in the Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts evacuated people from the low-lying areas as the river water in Subarnarekha and Baitarani rivers breached the danger mark amid heavy rains.
"Involve functionaries of the Panchayati Raj System, women self-help groups and others concerned in evacuating people," Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep K Jena said.
The water level in multiple rivers of Odisha is flowing on dangerous levels amid heavy rains caused by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal. The release of flood water from Jharkhand is also building up the pressure on rivers.
