The Odisha government on Friday declared the heavy rains that lashed the coastal and northern districts as a State Specific Disaster in local context. The sudden downpour was precipitated by an atmospheric depression over its coastline.
As many as 25 blocks of eight districts have received very heavy rainfall ranging from 135mm to 274mm since Thursday. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Odisha centre predicted heavy showers to continue for the next 24 hours.
An infant was reported to have died due to a wall collapse in Balasore district. Houses got badly damaged in a few blocks of Balasore and Bhadrak districts.
The classification of this spell of heavy rainfall as a State Specific Disaster would enable the local administration to undertake relief measures and initiate the restoration of public infrastructure out of State Disasters Response Fund, said Bishnupada Sethi, the State’s Special Relief Commissioner. As per the Odisha Relief Code, rainfall in excess of 124mm in a day is treated as heavy rainfall.
The Kanas block of Puri district recorded 274mm of rainfall during past 24 hours, till 8 a.m. on Friday, the highest in the state. Kanas is followed by Khunta and Gopabandhu Nagar blocks of Mayurbhanj where precipitation was measured at 217.2mm each. Chilika and Tirtol are other two blocks where rainfall exceeding 200mm has been recorded.
As far as rainfall in entire district is concerned, Puri leads the table averaging 153mm rainfall. Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Jajpur and Khordha had above 100mm average rainfall during past 24 hours.
Water was flowing over a culvert in the Chandrapur block of Rayagada district, while rainwater flooded a number of villages in the state. Normal life has been affected due to water-logging in different parts of Balasore districts.
Meanwhile, the depression over coastal Odisha, centred approximately 35 km northwest of Chandbali, moved further northwards. The system is very likely to maintain its present course and then take a north-eastward turn.
“As the system is expected to move nearly north-northeastwards close to the coast, moisture incursion would continue during next 24 hours and hence the system is very likely to maintain its intensity during next 24 hours. It is very likely to weaken gradually into a well marked low pressure area thereafter,” said an IMD, Odisha bulletin.
Local cautionary signal number three has been kept hoisted at Paradip and Gopalpur Ports in Odisha. Strong gusty surface wind from the south-easterly direction in north Odisha Coast and north-westerly direction in south Odisha Coast with speed reaching 45-55 km per hour gusting to 65km per hour is likely to prevail along, and off the Odisha Coast.
