Rain To Lash Bhubaneswar, Cuttack & 18 Odisha Dists; Check Orange Alert For Today

Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued yellow warning of light to moderate rain/thundershower with lightning warning for 18 districts of Odisha, including twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, till 1.30 pm on Friday.

The districts likely to be affected are Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Angul, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Kandhamal.

Till 8.30 am, Khurda had received 88 mm rainfall followed by Hirakud (87.8), Nabarangpur (81), Keonjhar (70.6), Puri (69.6), Bhubaneswar (63.8) and Titlagarh (60.8) under the influence of a low pressure area, which formed last evening.

The low pressure is active over north-west Bay of Bengal adjoining Odisha and West Bengal coasts. The system is likely to move in the west-northwest direction for the next 2 to 3 days towards North Odisha-North Chhattisgarh, it said.

Notably, the MeT office had forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20cm) is likely at one or two places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Balangir and Nuapada during the next 24 hours. Heavy rainfall (7 to 11cm) may also occur at one or two places in Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Boudh, Sonepur, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh.

The IMD has warned of temporary water logging in low-lying areas, poor visibility during intense spells of rain and traffic congestion in urban areas. There is also a possibility of wall collapse of vulnerable kutcha houses and some damages of kutcha road. Landslides are also likely in vulnerable hilly areas in Malkangiri, Koraput, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts.