Bhubaneswar, Sep 26 (PTI) The Odisha government on Saturday evacuated over 70,000 people living in low-lying areas to safety and housed them in 395 relief camps as all rivers in the state swelled due to heavy rainfall over the past few days, officials said.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas in south Odisha on Sunday morning.
Flash floods and incidents of water-logging have been reported from 13 districts — Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Keonjhar, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Bolangir and Jagatsinghpur, they said.
The coastal district of Balasore was among the worst hit as three major rivers were flowing above their danger level. The water level of the Subarnarekha River was flowing at 11.07 meters at Jaleswar’s Rajghat at 5 pm against the danger level of 10.36 metres. This has led to flooding in the villages in Bhograi, Jaleswar, Baliapal and Basta blocks, the officials said.
Budhabalang was flowing above the danger level at 8.8 metres over NH-16 at Govindpur at 3 pm.
Other rivers such as Kansabansa, Soa and Gangahar were also in spate in Balasore, they said.
In Mayurbhanj, authorities of Similipal National Park have announced temporary closure of Devkund, a tourist destination, and visitors were discouraged to visit the sanctuary as several streams and water channels have experienced a significant rise in water levels, an official said.
Heavy rainfall has also resulted in the washing away or damaging of bridges and culverts on the access route to Devkund, he said.
The floodwaters of Budhabalang River entered some areas in Baripada municipality, and Badasahi, Betanati, Udala, Kaptipada, Saraskana, Rasagobindapur blocks.
Meanwhile, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said 11 more gates of the Hirakud Dam had to be opened on Saturday to release excess water from the reservoir.
Altogether 16 sluice gates have been opened so far, he said.
“We have to open more gates due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment area of Mahanadi River in Chhattisgarh. At present, water level is at 629.56 feet against the full reservoir level of 530 feet,” a senior official said, adding that people living in the floodplains and low-lying areas have been asked to remain alert.
The minister said 33 rescue teams of ODRAF, three teams of NDRF and around 300 teams of Fire Services personnel have been engaged in relief and rescue operations.
In Jajpur, the overflowing Kani River, a branch of the Baitarani River, inundated Tarapada and Kapasi panchayats in Dasarathpur block.
Five gates of the Indravati Project on Hati River in Kalahandi district have been opened, discharging 550 cusecs of water since Thursday night and flooding several blocks.
In Koraput, five panchayats in Kotpad block were inundated, while over 100 houses were damaged. PTI COR AAM NSD AAM ACD
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