BHUBANESWAR: As pounding rains induced by cyclone Arnab unleashed a deluge, an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) helicopter was deployed on Thursday afternoon to rescue about 2,000 people marooned in Ganjam district, which was battling acute flash floods.
At least 1,000 villages in Ganjam and neighbouring Gajapati districts bore the brunt of heavy rainfall which sent Rushikulya and Vansadhara rivers in spate. Both the rivers were flowing above the danger mark.
In the last 24 hours, Patrapur in Ganjam recorded the highest rainfall of 546 mm, followed by 462.4 mm at G Udayagiri in Kandhamal. Due to the heavy rains, Vansadhara river's water level stood at 55.37 m against its danger level of 54.60 m at 3 pm. In neighbouring Ganjam's Purushottampur, Rushikulya river's water level was 19.20 m as compared to its danger level of 16.84 m.
Both Vansadhara and Rushikulya rivers recorded a rising water level trend by the afternoon and the authorities are closely monitoring the situation.
Towns and villages in Sorada, Purusottampur, patrapur, Kabisuryanagar and Sanakhemnundi faced the flood as Rushikulya was in the spate. Not just flooding, the tropical storm triggered landslides too in Gajapati where hilly roads and bridges were swept away.
Massive rock boulders rolled down from Kalinga Ghat onto the arterial road, severely disrupting vehicle movement along the key passage connecting Ganjam and Kandhamal districts. Teams have been deployed to clear the debris and restore the traffic.
In view of situation, Ganjam Collector Keerthi Vasan V requested the state government for immediate evacuation of the stranded people. Acting on the urgency, Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy an ICG helicopter to airlift the stranded people from the affected regions.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg informed that the state was coordinating with the MHA to rescue people trapped in flooded areas. The ICG helicopter is expected to airlift 120 people in the first phase, she said.
The Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office informed that after receiving the permission from the MHA, an ICG helicopter commenced rescue operations in Ganjam district in the afternoon.
According to SRC, 299 villages in 22 blocks of Ganjam and 711 villages in seven blocks of Gajapati district were affected by the incessant rains.