BHUBANESWAR: The blistering spell of heatwave in Odisha was brought to a halt by widespread rains across half the state in the last 24 hours. Berhampur city received the heaviest rainfall on Saturday.
Due to heavy rains and strong winds, waterlogging and uprooting of trees were reported from Berhampur. The Odisha Fire and Emergency Service personnel launched water evacuation at various places and removed felled trees near the national highway, on MKCG Medical College and Hospital premises of the city.
The rescue teams also moved to safety a visually-challenged woman, identified as Laxmi Sahoo, at about 4.15 pm after rain water entered her house in the Prem Nagar area. In Balasore and Bhadrak too, similar uprooting of trees and power supply disruption was witnessed.
The regional met office said Chhatrapur received the highest rainfall of 62.8 mm on the day, followed by Cuttack (21.2 mm), Chandbali (16.4 mm), Balasore and Nayagarh (15 mm) and Gopalpur (14.2 mm). Bhubaneswar which reported overcast conditions received around 10 mm rain. On Friday, Baripada had recorded 120 mm rain, Joda 90 mm, Rajgangpur 70 mm and Saharpada, Champua and Karanjia 60 mm each.
More rains are expected in the next two days, albeit with lesser intensity. The met office has forecast thunderstorm with lightning at one or two places in Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh and 11 other districts on Sunday.
Light to moderate rainfall or thundershower activity may prevail across 15 districts during the period. Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Manorama Mohanty said, the state is likely to witness a decline in widespread rains from Sunday. However, a few places will continue to experience thunderstorm activities in the next two days, she added.
The rains brought much-needed relief from the unusual hot conditions that had gripped the state as both day and night temperatures dipped. Boudh had emerged as the hottest place in the country recording over 43 degree Celsius earlier in the week, while Malkangiri recorded 36.1 degree C. People in both the districts had a sigh of relief.
The day temperature in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack fell to 25.4 degree C and 26 degree C respectively on the day. However, with rainfall activity expected to subside, the pleasant weather condition may end soon as mercury is likely to rise by 2 to 3 degree C in the state from Monday onwards.