BHUBANESWAR: Heavy rainfall, triggered by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal, lashed Odisha on Thursday, disrupting normal life with widespread waterlogging, landslides, and transport disruptions. The weather event left one person dead and two others missing, officials reported.
The intensity of the rain increased as the depression made landfall near Gopalpur in Ganjam district on Thursday evening, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which also confirmed that downpours would persist until 8:30 am on Friday.
“One person died and two others went missing in landslides reported at six locations in Gajapati district, due to incessant rain over the past two days,” Superintendent of Police Jatindra Kumar Panda told PTI via telephone. “The deceased was buried under debris following a landslide under the jurisdiction of R Udaygiri Police Station,” he added.
Seventy-year-old Kartika Shabara and his son Rajib Shabara were reported missing after a landslide struck near Pekat in the Rayagada block of the district. Rescue operations are underway, although key roads linking Rayagada with Nuagarh and R Udaygiri have been severed, said Panda.
In a rescue effort, 24 tourists stranded on the Mahendragiri Hills due to a landslide were safely evacuated, he added.
In response to the severe damage caused by the heavy rainfall, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena to visit the affected district and oversee ongoing rescue operations. The Chief Minister also instructed the Special Relief Commissioner to provide immediate support as required by the local administration.
An official statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) noted that rising water levels in several rivers in Gajapati district posed a risk of flooding in low-lying areas. The Chief Minister has spoken with the district collector to assess the evolving situation.
In a separate incident, two individuals were injured when a decorative bamboo gate, erected for the Durga Puja celebrations in Balikuda, collapsed. The injured were admitted to a nearby community health centre, according to police.
Officials from the state revenue department confirmed that landslides had occurred in Gajapati, Rayagada, and Koraput districts, while trees were uprooted in parts of Ganjam.
Train services were also disrupted across southern Odisha due to the rainfall and landslides. According to East Coast Railway (ECoR), boulders fell along several sections of the Kottavalasa-Kirandul and Koraput-Rayagada lines under the Waltair Division. As a result, the Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Night Express was cancelled, and the Kirandul-Visakhapatnam train, scheduled for 2nd October, was terminated early at Koraput. The Santragachi-Yesvantpur Weekly Express was rescheduled.
In Koraput district, rainwater submerged a bridge, halting vehicular movement on National Highway 326, a key route connecting Odisha with Andhra Pradesh.
Disaster response teams and machinery have been deployed in vulnerable districts. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea along and off the Odisha coast until 3rd October.
The IMD has issued a ‘red alert’ for extremely heavy rainfall (over 20 cm) in seven districts: Puri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Kalahandi, and Kandhamal. Sixteen districts are under an ‘orange warning’ (heavy to very heavy rainfall between 7 cm and 20 cm), while seven western districts are under a ‘yellow alert’ (rainfall of 7 cm to 11 cm).
“The deep depression over the north-west and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards at 17 km/h in the past six hours and crossed the Odisha coast near Gopalpur around 5 pm,” said an IMD statement.
Gopalpur recorded a maximum wind speed of 73 km/h in gusts during the event, according to IMD officials.
The system is expected to continue moving north-northwestwards across southern Odisha and weaken into a depression by the morning of 3rd October.
IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told a news channel that several parts of the state would continue to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall until Friday morning. Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre’s Director, Manorama Mohanty, confirmed that squally winds of 55–65 km/h, gusting to 75 km/h, were likely to persist over the central and adjoining northern Bay of Bengal on 2nd October.
She added that the intensity of the wind is expected to gradually decline thereafter. All ports in Odisha have been advised to hoist Local Cautionary Signal 3 (LC-3), a warning system for maritime operations.