BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Friday said the latest spate of heavy rains has once again wreaked havoc with six districts affected by fresh floods.
While over 2.09 lakh people in 428 villages have been affected, more than 10,000 in 33 villages of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Sundargarh and Keonjhar are marooned. So far, 2,784 people have been rescued from the marooned villages, special relief commissioner (SRC) Rajesh Pravakar Patil said.
Around 42,000 people were earlier evacuated to safer places from the low-lying areas of these districts. As many as 127 flood shelters have been opened, where affected people are housed and being provided with cooked food. Crops over 1,623 hectares land and 425 houses have been damaged in this round of floods, he said.
According to the situation report released by the office of SRC, Balasore district has been the worst hit, where over 79,000 people have been affected with over 2,700 marooned. The district administration has been asked to remain prepared for more severe flood as the water level of Subarnarekha river is on the rise.
In Bhadrak district, over 51,500 people have been affected and 13,100 shifted to safer places. Both Balasore and Bhadrak districts are experiencing floods for the second time during this monsoon.
In Jajpur district, 46,500 people have been affected in the deluge and more than 11,200 evacuated. The district is witnessing the fourth flood this season. Officials said the swollen Kani river entered several villages through a breach at Dovabil Patana in Tarpada panchayat. Some villages have been inundated in the floodwater and road communication has also been severely affected.
The report said more than 15,100 people were affected and 1,800 shifted to safer places in Sundargarh district. More than 10,000 people have so far been affected in Mayurbhanj and over 8,700 people evacuated.
Water-levels of Budhabalanga and Jalaka rivers were increasing, raising apprehensions of floods affecting more areas of the district. The Baitarani river has flooded parts of Keonjhar district, particularly Joda, Champua, Barbil and Anandapur blocks. SRC officials said 79 teams including 39 from the Odisha Disaster Response Force (ODRAF), seven from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 33 from Fire and Emergency Services have been deployed in the affected districts for rescue and relief operations.