Weather Alert: Heavy Rainfall To Lash Odisha For Five Days

Bhubaneswar: Most parts of Odisha will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall from Monday under the influence of a low-pressure system in the north Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned on Sunday.

The weather condition is likely to continue till August 28 (Friday), it added.

“A cyclonic circulation lying over Bangladesh and neighbourhood is most likely turn into a low pressure over the north Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood around by August 24 and gradually move towards the north-west direction. Under its influence, there will be heavy to very heavy rainfall in the coastal, south coastal, north and interior north districts of Odisha which will continue for five days till August 28,” the IMD said in its mid-day bulletin.

Due to heavy rainfall, there will be water-logging, flash floods and damage to informal roads and kutcha houses in some places while there is a possibility of landslide in hilly areas, it added.

Fishermen are advised not to venture along and off the Odisha coast and north Bay of Bengal between August 25 and 27 as squally weather with strong surface wind reaching 40-50 kmph will make the sea condition very rough, the bulletin said.

In view of the heavy rainfall, IMD has issued orange and yellow warnings for the following districts.

August 23
(Yellow warning)
Heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Puri and Angul.

August 24
(Orange warning)
Heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal.

(Yellow warning)
Heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Angul, Deogarh, Sundargarh, Puri, Kandhamal and Boudh.

August 25
(Orange warning)
Heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Keonjhar and Angul.

(Yellow warning)
Heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Sundargarh, Puri, Khordha, Boudh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Balangir.

August 26
(Orange warning)
Heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Angul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sonepur, Boudh and Balangir.

(Yellow warning)
Heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Jajpur, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Nuapada, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi.

August 27
(Yellow warning)
Heavy rainfall at one or two places over the districts of Nuapada, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Balangir, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Nabarangpur and Keonjhar.

Following the weather warning by the IMD, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) and additional chief secretary, Disaster Management, Pradeep Jena has directed the collectors of the districts under orange and yellow warning to remain prepared to meet any water-logging and localised flood like situation.

In view of the possibility of local flash flood and landslides in hilly areas, the collectors have been asked to alert the BDOs, tehsildars and the engineers of the Water Resources and officials of the Rural Development and Works Departments to ensure road communication, evacuate rainwater in low-lying areas and promptly respond to breaches on embankments and cleaning of drainage channels.

Apart from this, the ODRAF and Fire Services personnel have been asked to remain on high alert.

The SRC has also asked the collectors to ensure the functioning of the control room round the clock and furnish the situation report at regular intervals.