BHUBANESWAR: As rain abates and flood water recedes in the southern Odisha districts, the magnitude of devastation is slowly coming to fore. A population of 1.45 lakh has been affected by the deluge in Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Rayagada, the estimates by the State Government say.
Nabarangpur has been the worst hit with at least 70,000 people in 10 blocks of Nabarangpur, Nandahandi, Tentulikhunti, Papadahandi, Kosagumuda, Dabugan, Umerkote, Raighar, Jharigaon and Chandahandi picking up pieces of what used to be their home.
Official numbers provided by the Special Relief Commissioner’s office state that as many as 283 villages in these blocks have faced inundation. So far, reports of 369 house damage have been received.
In neighbouring Kalahandi, 136 villages of seven blocks have been affected. The total population hit by the flood stands at 45,200 while the number of livestock affected is 26,961.
The floods have caused extensive damage to standing crops in the district. Preliminary reports said close to 3.83 lakh hectares of crop area have been affected by the flood. Two deaths were reported from Kalahandi where the administration opened 35 free kitchens. The affected blocks include Kalampur,
Jaipatna, Kesinga, Junagarh, ThuamulRampur, Bhawanipatna Sadar and Narla.
In Rayagada, which was the first to be hit by the floods, over 28,000 people in 70 villages of Kalyansinghpur and Rayagada blocks have been hit by the floods. While over 12,000 livestock were affected, enumeration of the house damage is still underway. The Government operated 25 free kitchens in these two blocks.
The Health and Family Welfare Department has been running at least 18 medical relief centres to prevent outbreak of any communicable diseases in these three districts while disinfection of the water sources is continuing.
Preliminary figures
70,000 people of 283 villages in 10 blocks of Nabarangpur worst hit
45,200 people of 136 villages in 7 blocks affected in Kalahandi district
28,000 residents of 70 villages in two blocks hit by floods in Rayagada district