Heavy Rain Batters Western Odisha

Kalpana Square Photograph: Ashok Panda. Wind speed reaching up to 50 to 60 kmph expected.

Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain has been lashing most parts of western Odisha since Saturday night under the influence of a low pressure over the north-west Bay of Bengal.

According to a release by the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Bhawanipatna received the maximum rainfall of 103 mm by 6 this morning.

The release said there would be heavy rainfall in Puri, Ganjam, Khurda, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Kalahandi, Boudh, Sonepur and Sundargarh districts from Sunday evening, with extremely heavy rainfall in Dhenkanal, Angul, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Balangir, Jharsuguda, Bargarh and Keonjhar districts till August 28.

Besides, the release has also issued heavy rain and lightning alert for Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Boudh, Deogarh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts and advised the people to stay indoors from 3.30 pm to 7.30 pm on Sunday.

Due to the inclement weather, fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea along and off Odisha coast and northwest Bay of Bengal while those who have gone for deep sea fishing have been asked to return to the coast.