Balasore: People living in low-lying areas of the Subarnarekha river in Odisha’s Balasore district are in a state of panic with floodwaters entering 10 panchayats on Monday.
Due to incessant rains in the upper catchments and heavy rainfall in Jharkhand, the floodwaters of Subarnarekha entered five panchayats of Baliapal block and 5 panchayats of Bhogarai block this morning, sources said.
By 9 am, the water level of Subarnarekha at Rajghat in Jaleswar was 10.42 metres as against the danger level of 10.36 metres.
Due to heavy rain in upper catchments, 8000 cusecs of floodwaters were released through eight gates of Galudih barrage in Jharkhand, the sources added.
Apprehending that the floodwaters will enter 50 low-lying villages if it continues to rain for another 24 hours, the Balasore district administration has begun shifting people to safer places.