Torrential rain battered Odisha’s Malkangiri district, severing its connections with the rest of the State as roads were submerged at multiple locations on Monday (September 9, 2024). Several areas of the district were inundated.
The State is set to receive more rain as the deep depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 13 km per hour and crossed Odisha coast close to Puri in the morning of Monday.
Also read | A.P. gets relief from deep depression as it crosses Odisha coast, rainfall to continue till September 10
“It is very likely to move further northwestwards across interior Odisha maintaining its intensity of deep depression till evening and weaken gradually into a depression by midnight of September 9. Thereafter, it is very likely to move west-northwestwards across north Chhattisgarh during subsequent 24 hours as a depression,” says the bulletin issued by India Meteorological Department.
Though there was no possibility of a big flood three senior officials were deputed to close watch on evolving situation in the southern Odisha district.
Sundhansu Sarangi, Director General of Police, (fire services), Bishnupada Sethi, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department Secretary and Charan Meena, Deputy Inspector General of Police (southern division) have been deputed to Malkangiri to supervise and assist district administration.
The Special Relief Commissioner D. K. Singh said although intensity of rain had come down, Malkangiri continued to receive widespread rain on Monday.
According to the office of SRC, the highest rainfall of 253 mm was recorded in Malkangiri Block while three blocks such as Malkangiri, Chitrakonda and Khairput had more than 200 mm of rainfall recorded during the same period. Six blocks of Malkangiri and Kotaput district received over 100 mm of rainfall. Water was overflowing all the bridges in the stretch between Pangam and Motu Road of Malkangiri.
Rescue operations
Six teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force were deployed in Malkangiri while two ODRAF teams were involved in the rescue operation. Several villagers were rescued while some were stranded atop the roof. In the Poteru area of Malkangiri, the police outpost was half-submerged. The SRC sources said 560 villages were affected in Malkangiri and Koraput districts.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur in a few places and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places may occur in Ganjam, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Khordha, Bolangir, Boudh Koraput, Nabarangapur and Puri. A red warning has been issued for these districts by IMD.
Published - September 09, 2024 10:28 pm IST