Around 14 families were rescued and more than 3000 people shifted to flood shelters as Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) was lashed by heavy rains in Palposi village under Jarak GP in Thakurmunda block.
Besides flooding the village, the flood water led to the collapse of the Deo Irrigation project left the canal and another portion near Hatibari in the wee hours on Wednesday. As a result, more than 30 villages under Hatibari, Batpasa, Dudhiani and Mirigidi GPs divisions are deluged. As per reports, Kabataghai in STR received 248 mm of rainfall.
Sub-collector of Karanjia Premanshu Chand said a portion of the left canal collapsed in Deo irrigation project resulting in water reaching the villages and inundating houses in Chaturisahi village under Kulipsoi. Executive engineer of Mayurbhanj Water resources department Prasad Ranjan Panda said at least two gates in Sunei dam were opened to release the water due to heavy rainfall in STR.
In Bhadrak, the water level of Salandi has swollen while Baitarani crossed the danger level at Akhuapada. According to the District Emergency Office report, water in Baitarani is flowing at 19.57 mtr till 8 pm on Wednesday against the danger level of 17.83 at Akhuapada. It might rise to 20.23 by night, said Manoj Patra, sub-collector, Bhadrak. In such a situation, flood water may enter the low-lying areas in Dhamnagar and Bhandaripokhari blocks late in the night, he added.
Meanwhile, district collector Siddeshwar Baliram Bondar took stock of the flood situation and held a meeting with district, block and irrigation officials on the day. The district and block officers are ready to evacuate people, Bondar said, adding 30 NDRF teams have been deployed in two blocks.
Similarly, in Jajpur, Baitarani’s tributary Budha River is also flowing much above the danger mark resulting in floods in some low-lying villages of two blocks in the district. Jajpur collector Chakravarti Singh Rathore said both NDRF and ODRAF teams are in readiness.
Continuous rains upstream of the Vansadhara river have triggered a flood-like situation in the Kashinagar area in Gajapati district. According to reports, the river is flowing at 54.90 metres as against the danger mark of 54.60 metres near Kashinagar. District collector Smruti Ranjan Pradhan visited the villages close to the river on Wednesday.
In Rayagada, all the rivers are in spate with the district recording 447.1 mm of rainfall during the last 24 hours. Cracks appeared on the guard wall of a bridge between Sikarpai and Kalyansingpur as a portion of connecting road got washed away due to heavy rains.
In Keonjhar, due to heavy rains, all 13 blocks and five municipal council areas have been affected. Around 313 people have been shifted to safe places while 208 houses were damaged affecting 211 people. The district administration informed that 25 wards of 72-gram panchayats have been affected and 106 pregnant women shifted to safe places. A woman Srimati Lohar (72) of Ghuntupasi village of Balibandh revenue circle under Jhumpura tehsil reportedly died due to a wall collapse.
Many areas in the Kandhamal district faced a flood-like situation on Wednesday. Dakpala and Damigaon of ward no. 2 of Phulbani municipality have been cut off from the town as flood water of the Pila Salunki river is flowing 4 to 5 ft above the connecting road for the last two days.
Heavy rains also disrupted communication in several areas while damage to electricity poles has left many areas in the town dark. Around 88 families living in the landslide-prone area of Phulbani town have been evacuated to safe places by the administration, said emergency officer Ranjan Kumar Martha. While the K.Nuagaon block recorded 158 mm of rainfall, Baliguda received 120 mm and the Phulbani block received 102 mm.
—Baripada, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Gajapati, Rayagada, Keonjhar and Kandhamal