Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi conducted an aerial survey on Sunday of flood-affected areas in the southern districts of Ganjam, Koraput and Nabarangpur to assess the damage caused by heavy continuous rainfall linked to a recent deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.
He was accompanied by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari and Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil.
According to sources, the Chief Minister’s inspection was delayed by about two hours due to a technical issue with the helicopter before proceeding from Bhubaneswar. The survey covered key routes including Kalinga Ghati connecting Ganjam and Kandhamal, where continuous downpours triggered landslides that sent massive boulders and soil debris onto the road, prompting authorities to close the route indefinitely for safety reasons and disrupting regional connectivity.
After the aerial review of post-flood conditions, Majhi landed at Jeypore in Koraput district for ground inspections of inundated locations and a review meeting with officials. Following which, he travelled by road to the affected areas near the Surali River close to the Chhattisgarh border. While around 150 hectares of farmland remained submerged, with floodwaters reaching heights of 10 to 15 feet in several places, ODRAF and Fire Services, recently deployed boats to rescue three individuals trapped inside a building surrounded by floodwaters. Meanwhile, relief efforts are ongoing, with cooked meals provided daily to more than 1,000 people at centres such as the one at Chand High School.
Majhi is scheduled to tour the flood-affected Chandan region by boat and review the distribution of relief materials. He will later visit rain-affected areas of Nabarangpur.
The impact of the heavy rains has been felt across 13 districts, including Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Kendujhar, Nayagada, Kandhamala, Bolangir and Jagatsinghpur, where rivers swelled and low-lying areas flooded. By Saturday, authorities had evacuated more than 70,000 people from vulnerable zones and housed them in 395 relief camps. Baleshwar was among the worst hit, with major rivers such as the Subarnarekha flowing above danger levels and inundating villages in several blocks; the Budhabalang and other smaller rivers were also in spate.
In Mayurbhanj, authorities temporarily closed Devkund tourist destination in Similipal National Park due to swollen streams.
Peak 8 Lakh Cusecs Discharge at Mundali
While southern rivers like the Indravati, Kolab, Vansadhara and Rushikulya, as well as the Brahmani system, have shown falling trends, heavy rainfall in the upper catchments of Chhattisgarh has increased inflows into the Mahanadi River system. Floodwater is currently being discharged from 24 gates with water levels approaching the full reservoir mark of 630 feet.
According to Engineer-in-Chief (EIC) Dillip Rout, peak discharge at key monitoring points in the Mahanadi river basin previously reached around 7.42 lakh cusecs. Combined with an inflow of 3.34 lakh cusecs from the Tel basin, water levels downstream at Mundali are expected to surge significantly. “As per our assessment, the flood discharge through Mundali is expected to reach approximately 8 lakh cusecs. While this is a substantial volume, a major or catastrophic flood situation is not anticipated unless discharge exceeds 10 lakh cusecs,” he said.
However, the peak flood discharge could cause temporary waterlogging in low-lying areas of districts such as Kataka, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khordha and parts of Kendrapada with distributaries, Kathajodi, Kuakhai, Daya, Bhargavi, Kushabhadra, Ranpur, and Rajua, carrying heavy flows, over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Field engineers have been directed to maintain vigilance with night patrols along embankments.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast little to no significant rainfall over Odisha for the next few days, offering hope that floodwaters would recede steadily once the peak volume passes into the Bay of Bengal.
