Bhubaneswar: With the water levels in various rivers of the state in spate, flood water entered into 62 blocks and nine urban local bodies (ULBs) in 13 districts, office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said here Monday.
According to a press statement issued by the SRC’s office, over 3.16 lakh people of 1082 villages have been affected due to flood and severe water logging in 13 districts.
The flood water entered into four blocks – Pallahara, Talcher, Banrpal and Chhendipada in Angul district, while three blocks of Boudh, 4 in Bargarh, two in Deogarh, 11 in Kalahandi, seven in Kandhamal, 12 in Koraput, three in Rayagada, nine in Sambalpur, two in Sonepur and five in Puri are also affected due to the flood.
The government Monday said so far it received reports of 12 causalities due to flood and related accidents. Five people have been killed in Kalahandi, while two died in Sambalpur and one each in Bargarh, Jajpur, Kandhamal, Koraput and Sonepur districts. At the same time, 5360 houses have been damaged across the state.
The government has deployed 12 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) at Malkangiri, Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda, Puri, Sambalpur, Cuttack, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur town and 85 (709 personnel) fire service units for rescue and relief operations.
Besides, five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been pre-positioned in five districts – Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jajpur (Barachana block), Puri and Jagatsinghpur.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation and directed concerned officials to remain alert to deal with possible flooding of Mahanadi river due to incessant rains.
The CM asked them to ensure immediate relief to the affected in case of a flood. The districts falling in Mahanadi basin include Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda and Puri.
As there is a possibility of flood in Baitarani river too, the CM has asked the district administration of Bhadrak, Jajpur and Keonjhar to be prepared to meet any eventuality.
Hirakud to release water
Sambalpur: The first floodwater of the season will be released from the Hirakud dam Tuesday. The water level in the reservoir reached about 615.43 feet by Monday morning against its capacity to hold up to 630 feet water. Officials expect the water level to rise further as 2,05,352 cusecs of water are entering the dam per second. “The first floodwater will be released between 10 am to 11 am Tuesday. However, a decision regarding the number of sluice gates to be opened will be taken tomorrow taking into consideration the volume of water inflow to the reservoir,” Hirakud Project chief engineer Jyotirmaya Rath said.