Bhubaneswar, Aug 27 (PTI) Around 76,000 people in three districts of Odisha reeled under floods even as major rivers in the state flowed well below their danger marks. The situation may aggravate soon as the weather department on Thursday forecast heavy rains till September 2.
The state has already suffered two bouts of flood owing to heavy rainfall this monsoon. The second spell of flood in the state since August 13 has so far impacted 13,50,306 people in 1,895 villages.
According to the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), 187 villages in Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts were still affected by the deluge, with more than 76,000 people suffering due to inundation.
It said that 4.94 lakh people had been accommodated in 989 shelters when 10 districts had been affected by the flood.
However, the situation has improved in many places as the water levels in all major rivers have receded and are flowing much below the danger mark, SRC Rajesh P Patil said.
Relief and restoration operations were underway on a war footing, and the situation was being monitored round the clock, he said, adding that getting access to marooned villages and the supply of cooked food and safe drinking water were of immediate priority.
Patil added that the northern districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, along with coastal Kendrapara and Jajpur districts were hit by both rounds of floods.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department said a low-pressure area is likely to form over the northwest Bay of Bengal around August 29.
“The prevailing weather system indicates the possibility of heavy rainfall across Odisha from August 27 to September 2,” said Manorama Mohanty, the director of the meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar.
She said that fisherfolk have been advised not to venture into the sea along and off the West Bengal and north Odisha coasts from August 30 to September 1.
Heavy rainfall is likely in Balasore and Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Koraput and Gajapati districts till Friday morning. PTI AAM AAM NSD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.