Bhubaneswar/Balasore/ Baripada: The state government Sunday placed the Balasore and Mayurbhaj district administrations on high alert with an impending flood threat looming over the northern part of the state as several major rivers in the region continue to swell, an official said.
Rivers such as Budhabalanga, Subarnarekha, Jalaka, Jambhira and Sona are witnessing rising water levels and may cause flooding by Monday, he warned.
Balasore Collector Suryawanshi Mayur Vikash has cancelled the leaves of all government employees. The fresh flood situation has panicked people as they are yet to recover from the scare of a flash flood in Subarnarekha which hit them June 20.
The Balasore district administration has already started evacuating the people in low-lying areas of Baliapal and Basta blocks with the support of ODRAF and fire and emergency services teams. All are advised to move to nearby shelters to prevent any type of mishaps during the flood, an official said.
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This apart, the administration is also using a public address system to make people aware of the impending flood in the low-lying areas of Balasore, he said, adding that sandbags have been strategically deployed in large numbers to strengthen vulnerable riverbanks and prevent flooding.
Safety measures are in full swing to protect lives and property, he said.
Torrential rainfall has disrupted normal life in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts. Fishermen have been advised through public address systems not to venture into the sea as it remains rough after the new moon day.
According to another official, people of around nine villages under the Saraskana and Rasgovindpur blocks of Mayurbhanj have been evacuated to safe places and provided cooked food and relief.
The rise in water level has led to flood scare in low lying areas of Badasahi, Betanoti, Gopabandhu Nagar, Saraskana, Rasgovindpur and Morada blocks in Mayurbhanj district.
The Mayurbhanj district administration declared a holiday for all schools Monday. The Anganwadi centres will remain closed for three days in the district while the supplementary high school certificate examination will continue, the official said.
To oversee the situation on the ground in flood management, an engineer-in-chief and a chief engineer have been deployed in Balasore. Water levels of Budhabalanga, Jalaka and Subarnarekha rivers were rising fast and have crossed the danger levels.
The water levels of all the rivers will rise further by midnight of Sunday, Central Water Commission sources said.
In this backdrop, peak flood is expected in Subarnarekha at 11.25 metres at midnight, in Budhabalanga at 8.20 metres at 9am Monday and in Jalaka at 6.82 metres at 6pm Sunday, another official said.
The State Flood Cell in the Department of Water Resources is working round-the-clock and the situation is being closely monitored, he said.
Meanwhile, a fresh low-pressure area has formed over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts and northern Odisha is likely to receive heavy rainfall, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a bulletin Sunday.
Under the influence of the upper air cyclonic circulation over southwest Bangladesh and Gangetic West Bengal, another low-pressure area formed over northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts at 5.30am June 29, it said.
The system is likely to move slowly west-northwestwards across north Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand during the next two days.
The IMD has forecast isolated heavy rainfall in the state from June 29 to July 4. Some places in the state may also witness very heavy rainfall till July 1, it said.
The low pressure is likely to trigger very heavy rains in parts of Odisha between Sunday and Tuesday. As the southwest monsoon is active over the state, heavy rainfall activity is expected to prevail next week, said Manorama Mohanty, the director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.
PNN & Agencies
