Rain Lashes Most Parts Of Odisha

Massive Flooding Due To Rain In Front Of Iskon Temple, Bhubaneswar. Photograph: Ashok Panda

Bhubaneswar: While most parts of Odisha, especially the coastal pockets, have been experiencing intermittent rainfall since Wednesday evening, the local Met office on Thursday said heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur in the coastal and north coastal districts in the next 12 hours.

“A low pressure over the North Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast is going to form by the evening on Thursday. Besides, a cyclonic circulation has formed over the north-east Bay of Bengal while a monsoon trough line stretching from Punjab across the east–southeast to the east-central Bay of Bengal through Digha in Balasore. Under its influence, it has begun to rain in most parts of coastal Odisha since last evening. The rainfall will increase further during the evening and continue up to four days till July 16,” HR Biswas, Director, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, told the media here.

He further said while heavy to very heavy rainfall would lash almost all areas in the coastal north districts for two days till July 16 and most parts of South Odisha districts from July 17. However, there would be comparatively less rainfall in the interior districts during the period, he pointed out.

Biswas also maintained that this would be the longest spell of rain, especially in the coastal region of the state since the onset of the monsoon this year.

Meanwhile, a release by the local Met office here in the evening has issued a warning on heavy rain, thundershower, lightning with gusty wind in Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Balasore, Kandhamal, Deogarh, Khurda, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur and Cuttack districts and asked the people to stay indoors till 8 pm.