BHUBANESWAR: On a day the sun came out, there was misery in store for Odisha as floodwater entered more than 100 villages across the state in the past 24 hours, forcing people to abandon their homes on Tuesday.
And with Hirakud reservoir receiving excess floodwater, the government decided to open 14 additional gates, raising the spectre of flooding downstream with rivers already in spate.
1/10:Odisha floodwaters
<p>On a day the sun came out, there was misery in store for Odisha on Tuesday.</p>
2/10:Hirakud reservoir
<p>With Hirakud reservoir receiving excess floodwater, the government decided to open 14 additional gates, raising the spectre of flooding downstream with rivers already in spate.</p>
3/10:floodwater in Odisha
<p>The peak flow of water continued to pass through the river system.</p>
4/10:A submerged structure in Cuttack district
<p>A submerged structure in Cuttack district.</p>
5/10:Odisha flood
<p>As many as 1.2 lakh people living in 1,376 villages in 10 districts got marooned due to the flooding.</p>
6/10:With the flood situation getting serious in Odisha
<p>With the flood situation getting serious, chief minister Naveen Patnaik asked officials to ensure zero casualty.</p>
7/10:Bhattarika temple submerged in cuttack district
<p>Bhattarika temple submerged in Cuttack district.</p>
8/10:Hirakund dam
<p>As per the latest reports, of the 64 sluice gates of Hirakud dam, 40 were opened to release around 6,72,722 cusecs of floodwater against an inflow of 6,36,950 cusecs of water.</p>
9/10:Athagarh flood
<p>Locals pull out a car swept away in flood water in Athagarh of Cuttack district.</p>
10/10:flooding in Odisha
<p>The floodwater entered villages, agriculture fields and was flowing over bridges in several districts.</p>With the flood situation getting serious, chief minister Naveen Patnaik asked officials to ensure zero casualty.
"The next 48 hours will be critical for the Mahanadi delta region," special relief commissioner P K Jena said.
"The flood situation on the Mahanadi river system turned grim after the water level in Hirakud reservoir crossed 626 feet against the full reservoir level of 630 feet by 12 noon.
The peak flow of water will continue to pass through the river system as over 12 lakh cusecs of floodwater gets released and will continue till 3am of Wednesday. The flow will decline gradually," Jena said.
As many as 1.2 lakh people living in 1,376 villages in 10 districts got marooned due to the flooding.
"Ninty free kitchens are providing cooked food to the affected people while district collectors have been asked to evacuate people whenever necessary. So far, 707 houses have reportedly collapsed but the number is expected to go up," the SRC informed.
As per the latest reports, of the 64 sluice gates of Hirakud dam, 40 were opened to release around 6,72,722 cusecs of floodwater against an inflow of 6,36,950 cusecs of water.
9 teams each of NDRF and ODRAF deployed at vulnerable places
The water flow at Mundali barrage in Cuttack district crossed 12 lakh cusecs while the water level at the barrage had gone up to 97.80 feet against the danger mark of 97.25 feet on Tuesday evening.
Water level in the Mahanadi, Bagmati, Kamla Balan, Gandak, Bodhi Gandak and Kosi rivers are showing rising trend over the past two days, threatening hundreds of villages in over half a dozen districts, an official said.
"The flood has entered villages, agriculture fields and is flowing over bridges in the districts of Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Puri districts. Two breaches on the Mahanadi embankment in Khurda and Puri districts and several small breaches on embankments of smaller rivers have been reported. The officials of the water resources department are busy in fixing the breaches on a war footing," Jena said.
A bridge on NH-326 connecting Koraput and Rayagada collapsed, disrupting vehicular movement. While no casualty has been reported, barricades have been put in place, official sources said.
Nine teams each of National Disaster Response Force and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force have been deployed at vulnerable places, while 44 teams of the fire service have been engaged in relief and rescue operation. Five fire services teams successfully rescued 550 schoolchildren and 80 teachers stranded at Gatiroutpatana village in Cuttack district on Tuesday.
