BHUBANESWAR: More than 1,000 villages in Ganjam and Gajapati districts bore the brunt of cyclone Arnab which induced pelting rains and triggered flashfloods in two major rivers of south Odisha on Thursday.
About 2,000 people were stranded in Ganjam as multiple teams continued efforts to rescue them. In one instance, an Indian Coast Guard helicopter was deployed to evacuate people stranded in the district.
According to government data, about 299 villages in 22 blocks of Ganjam and 711 villages in seven blocks of Gajapati district were affected by the deluge. Apart from the two districts, heavy rains affected Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Nuapada and Kandhamal too. Over 59,000 people were evacuated to safety in the last 72 hours.
Home minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and assured all assistance and support. “In the wake of Cyclone Arnab, spoke with the Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry and assured them of every assistance to mitigate the hardships of the people in the face of the disaster. NDRF and SDRF teams have sprung into action and are continuing with rescue and relief operations on a war footing,” said Shah in a post on X.
The inter-ministerial central teams will soon be sent to assess the impact and further assistance, he added.
CM Majhi also took to X and said he briefed Shah about the prevailing situation in the affected districts and restoration measures undertaken by the state government. Rescue teams are engaged in restoring communication systems and clearing road blockages and efforts are on to ensure public safety and secure transportation, he added.
Majhi and Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Kumar Pujari is set to make an aerial survey of the affected areas soon to assess the situation, especially in Ganjam and Gajapati districts.
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. The heavy rains sent Vansadhara and Rushikulya rivers in the spate.
Ganjam was badly hit as towns and villages in Sorada, Purushottampur, Patrapur, Kabisuryanagar and Sanakhemundi faced the flood fury of a frothing Rushikulya. Sorada was among the worst-affected areas of Ganjam district, with the Rushikulya river inundated nearby towns and villages. The heavy rainfall triggered landslides too.
The state government deployed 69 teams from various disaster response agencies for rescue operations in the affected regions. The rescue teams comprised nine units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 60 of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF).