Bhubaneswar: Severe thunderstorm and heavy downpour for nearly 2 hours brought traffic to a standstill in the state capital of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
The intense spell of rain caused waterlogging in low-lying areas and severe traffic jams across major city roads. Flooded streets made commuting challenging and led to congestion on National Highway-16 between Jayadev Vihar and CRPF Square, as well as roads linking Master Canteen with Rajmahal Square and the Unit-1 market.
Residential areas and markets were also partially submerged.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a nowcast warning of severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain, lightning and gusty wind for Khurda district, including Bhubaneswar city, this afternoon.
It further stated that thunderstorm along with lightning and gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph may continue in the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kandhamal and Boudh till Thursday morning.