BHUBANESWAR: While forecasting heavy rainfall in interior parts of the State in the next 24 hours, the IMD today issued thunderstorm and lightning warning for 18 districts of Odisha.
"Heavy rainfall is likely to occur in one or two places in interior Odisha during the next 24 hours," IMD said in a bulleting. In another warning, the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar said thunderstorm with lightning is likely to occur in 18 districts.
People in these districts have been cautioned to stay indoors and take shelter in buildings and other safe locations as a precautionary measure. The districts where thundershower and lightning likely to take place are: Maurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam, Rayagada, Angul, Nayagarh, Khorda, Cuttack, Puri, Kandhamal,Kalahandi, Nawarangpur, Nawapara and Dhenkanal.
Meanwhile, sources in the IMD said that rainfall has occurred in many places with heavy rainfall at one or two places in Odisha.
The chief amounts of rainfall recorded in centimetre are: Malkangiri, Mandira Dam in Sundargarh district (11 cm each), Rayagada (9 cm), Daspalla in Nayagarh district, Banki in Cuttack district and Narla in Kalahandi district (8 cm each).