A low or medium level flood is likely to hit coastal Odisha districts on Saturday following heavy rain in the upper catchment of the Mahanadi, said Special Relief Commissioner Pradip Kumar Jena on Thursday.
“The Hirakud reservoir is receiving 4.20 lakh cusecs from Chhattisgarh which recorded heavy rainfall during the past 24 hours on Wednesday. On Thursday, the amount of water rose to 5.20 lakh cusecs,” said Mr. Jena at a press conference.
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He said, “28 sluice gates have been opened at Hirakud through which 4.8 lakh cusecs is being discharged. We are keeping a close watch on the situation. It is expected that 8 lakh cusecs would be flowing near Mundali near Cuttack.”
Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts are likely to be impacted and all the district administrations have been put on alert.
Mr. Jena said, “If the flood water flows as per estimation, the situation would not become acute.”
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Keeping in view the rising level in the rivers, 30 units of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire service personnel have been deployed in Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts.
Baitarani in spate
The State has not received significant rainfall except in some northern districts during the past 24 hours. Keonjhar recorded 50 mm rainfall leading to spate in the Baitarani river. But it will not turn into a major flood in Bhadrak and Jajpur districts. The Brahmani river also received significant water due to heavy rain in Sundargarh district.
Nine persons including three in Kendrapara and two in Jajpur districts died due to the heavy rain on September 12 and 14. Mr. Jena sought to assure that there is no threat of major flooding.