BHUBANESWAR:Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi on Saturday sought damage assessment reports from the districts affected by heavy rains triggered by cyclonic storm ‘Daye’. The affected districts have been asked to submit their reports within 15 days.Five districts of Malkangiri, Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Nayagarh were affected by the cyclone after it crossed Gopalpur early on Friday, while Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts faced flash floods due to rise in river water levels.
Meanwhile, woes of people in the affected districts have surfaced as cyclone Daye weakened. The NDRF and ODRAF teams are carrying out relief and evacuation work in the affected areas.
Road communication continued to remain disrupted. National Highway 326 between Malkangiri and Kalimela, road between Poteru and Kalimela, state highway from Malkangiri to Balimela are still inundated. Four villages remain marooned while 5,200 people have been affected.The SRC said situation is improving in Malkangiri as the district has not recorded much rainfall on Saturday. Community kitchens have been arranged for the affected people and the administration is assessing the damages, said district Collector Manish Agrawal. As per initial assessment round 2000 villages in the district have been damaged in the cyclone, he said.
On the other hand, Baitarani, Budhabalanga and Jalaka rivers which crossed danger mark early on Saturday inundated low lying areas in several panchayats of Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts affecting thousands of people.While Budhabalanga was flowing at 8.18 metres near NH-5 against the danger mark of 8.13 metres, Baitarani near Akhuapada was flowing at 18.08 metre against danger level of 17.83 metres. The water level of Jalaka also remained at 6.51 metres against the red mark of 5.80 metres.
Though two gates each of Sunei Dam and Kala Dam were opened Baitarani and Jalaka continued to flow above danger mark in the evening leading to panic among locals.Nilagiri, Bahanaga, Balasore and Remuna blocks in Balasore district were hit by the flash flood affecting 1.29 lakh people. In Mayurbhanj, 560 affected people in five blocks are being rescued by ODRAF team, SRC officials said.
Balasore Collector Ramesh Chandra Rout said power boats and ODRAF teams have been engaged in the affected areas to carry out relief and rescue work. Around 650 people have been evacuated to safety, he said.