16 dead, over 8 lakh affected in Odisha floods

Bhubaneswar: The ongoing flood in Odisha has taken the lives of 16 people and over eight lakh people have been affected by it till Sunday, a senior government official said.

According to special relief commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Kumar Jena, as many as 16 persons have died due to wall collapse and drowning, while five livestock have died in flood-related incidents in the state.

“As per the preliminary estimation, as many as eight lakh people and over 3 lakh livestock have been affected and 2-3 lakh hectares of farmland have been submerged. Besides, 8,000 houses have been damaged,” Jena said.

Jena further added that the state government will take detailed damage assessment once Odisha overcomes the flood situation.

Flood like situations have emerged in several rivers of the state including Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga, Baitarani, Brahmani and Jalaka. However, the water levels are receding in some of the rivers and the situation is improving, Jena informed.

Around 610 villages have been affected in Bhadrak district where more than 4,000 people have been evacuated to the shelters.

In Jajpur district, 560 villages have been affected and more than 50,000 people have been evacuated and are in shelters due to flood in Brahmani and Baitarani rivers.

Twenty-six breaches in embankments have been reported in Jajpur district, said Jena.

“We are keeping a close watch on the possible flood situation following the heavy water flow in several districts, including Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Puri,” he added.

Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and fire service teams have been deployed in the flood-affected areas.

PNN/Agencies