BHUBANESWAR: Coastal districts are staring at a low to middle-level flood with Mahanadi river crossing the warning level at Naraj even as Hirakud’s water level has started declining. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said that peak flood water between 7.5 lakh to 8 lakh cusec will pass through Munduli barrage at its peak on Friday night and there will not be much problem from Mahanadi. “We do not anticipate any danger from Mahanadi river but Collectors of coastal districts have been alerted to take all precautionary measures,” he said.
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According to the office of the SRC, the water level in Mahanadi at Naraj which was 25.81 metres at 3 pm has reached 25.87 metres now. The water level of Mahanadi was above the warning level for the entire day on Friday. The warning level at Naraj is 25.41 metre while the danger level is 26.41 metres. Water level in the Hirakud reservoir has started receding. The water level of the reservoir was 628.65 feet with an inflow of 4.22 lakh cusec into the dam as against outflow of 4.73 lakh cusec.
Subarnarekha is flowing at 10.53 metres against the danger level of 10.36 metres at Rajghat in the Balasore district and is rising at 4 cm per hour. Quoting the Water Resources department, Jena said the water flow of Subarnarekha will reach a peak level of 11.5 metre between 10 pm and Friday midnight. As a result, floodwater is likely to enter low lying areas in Bhograi and Baliapal blocks of the Balasore district.
He said that block development officers (BDOs), tehsildars and police have been asked to be on high alert to handle any emergency situation. ODRAF teams and fire personnel are also prepared for rescue operations. Requesting the people to remain careful, he assured of no major disaster due to flood in the district. He, however, said that water levels of Kushabhadra, Baitarani, Budhabalanga and Vansadhara are falling while that of Devi is rising.