Bhubaneswar: Odisha government Saturday put the Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur district authorities on high alert and asked them to go for the evacuation of people from low-lying areas as several rivers were in spate, officials said.
According to the State Flood Cell, the water levels of Jalaka and Baitarani rivers have already breached the danger marks, while the Subarnarekha in Balasore district are swelling at an alarming rate, amid heavy rain in the region.
Downpour in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts caused a rise in the water levels in the Subarnarekha, Jalaka and Baitarani rivers, an official said.
The Mayurbhanj district recorded 94 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, with 13 blocks registering over 100 mm, making it one of the wettest belts, he said.
The Jalaka and Baitarani catchment areas also received heavy rainfall, leading to rapid water accumulation, the official said.
Several low-lying areas in Balasore district have already been inundated, and the situation could get worse Sunday, he said.
“At least Basta, Bhograi, Jaleswar and Baliapal blocks of Balasore district are likely to be inundated on Sunday as the Subarnarekha river is estimated to flow above 11 metres against its danger mark of 10.36 metres,” Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Chandrasekhar Padhi said.
The Balasore district authorities have already evacuated many people in the Basta block to safe places and started an open kitchen for the affected people, another official said.
The people of the Basta area have been urged to go to safe places before the flood hits the area, he said.
The district administration has prepared an “inundation map” based on which the people are being evacuated, the official said.
Northern Odisha districts – Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and adjoining Jajpur district – have already been hit by the deluge, but there is no flood threat in the Mahanadi river system now, Padhi said, adding that the Brahmani river is not showing any alarming trend.
Keeping in view the flood situation in the northern districts, the state government has sent rescue and relief teams of Odisha Disaster Response Action Force, National Disaster Response Force, and Fire Services to Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, and Jajpur districts, another official said.
The disaster response plan includes readiness for evacuation and embankment monitoring, he said.
Padhi said, “Several senior officials are monitoring the flood situation at the ground level in coordination with the district administrations.”
Two engineers-in-chief have been deputed from Bhubaneswar to the Subarnarekha and Baitarani basins, and they will supervise the flood management there, he said.
Padhi, however, pointed out that the water level at Hirakud reservoir was around 910 feet against the full capacity of 930 feet.
Though there is an inflow of around 4 lakh cusec water to the Hiradud reservoir, three lakh cusec of water is being released through 20 sluice gates.
“We will be able to manage any flood situation in the Mahanadi river system by controlling the Hirakud reservoir,” Padhi said.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department, on its forecast for Sunday, stated that thunderstorms with lightning along with gusty wind speeds reaching 40 kmph are very likely to occur in some places of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts.
PTI
