The total number of people affected by the floods has crossed the 9.66 lakhs mark with about 251 villages in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts of North Odisha having been impacted by the floods, News Agency PTI reported quoting offiicials.
Subarnarekha, Budhabalang, Jalaka and Baitarani rivers have been on the rise due to heavy rains caused by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal and subsequent discharge of water from Galudih barrage in neighbouring Jharkhand.
Jharkhand had released nearly 6 lakh cusec(cubic feet per second) of water from Galudih barrage on the Subarnarekha river system.
Odisha is now facing the impact of twin floods with the state already battling medium floods in the east on account of the overflowing Mahanadi river overtopping and entering the paddy fields.
Meanwhile, authorities had started a massive evacuation drive to shift people from vulnerable areas to safer locations in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts even as flood water entered villages and caused havoc.
The state government is also operating 440 relief centres, where more than 1.71 lakh people are being fed cooked meals. A seven-day relief package for the affected people of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Keonjhar and Jajpur districts has also been announced by the government.
Odisha’s water resources minister Tukuki Sahu said that water level in Subarnarekha river, though gradually dipping, is still flowing above the danger mark and many villages in Baliapal, Bhograi, Basta and Jaleswar blocks of Balasore getting inundated.
Balasore District Collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde informing about the situation in his district said, “Nearly 156 villages in 83 gram panchayats of Balasore district have been hit by the flood. The administration has evacuated 40,000 people by Monday noon. They have put up in 227 temporary shelters,"
The situation is set to get worse before it gets better with India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting more rainfall for Balasore on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With inputs from PTI
