Rain & Flood Fury Hits 4.11 lakh People In 21 Districts, Claims 2 Lives In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Even though Odisha has now got a respite from rain fury on Friday, over 4.11 lakh people in 21 districts have been affected by heavy downpour over the last few days and the resultant flood in different parts of the state.

A situation report released by the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said the heavy rain that lashed the state for the last several days affected a total of 4,11,338 people of 21 districts. While 10 districts were affected by heavy rain, 11 others were hit by both heavy downpour and flood.

Two deaths were reported from Jajpur and Keonjhar districts, it said.

As many as 1889 villages in 136 blocks and 101 wards of different areas under urban local bodies spread over these 21 districts were affected by heavy rain and the flood situation triggered by the downpour.

A total of 2329 houses were damaged in several affected districts where more than 51,000 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas to safe locations. Altogether 442 kitchens were opened for the people affected by rain and flood.

Amid the threat of flooding, 106 teams, comprising NDRF (8), ODRAF (13) and Fire Services (85), had been rushed to different districts by the government.

According to SRC office, different river embankments had breached at five locations following incessant rain and flooding. A 100 metre length of the river Mahanadi embankment near KV, Boudh was washed away due to heavy rain. Likewise, a 10 m breach occurred at Bandhadiha village in right embankment of Brahmani river under Rasulpur Block of Jajpur district.