Odisha schools closed, holiday announced in two districts amid heavy rainfall

Bhubaneswar: Flash floods were reported in the embankments of the Hati River in Odisha's Kalahandi district on Sunday amid low pressure-triggered heavy rainfall across the state that also prompted the administrations of two other districts to announce school holidays the next day, officials said.

Under the impact of the low-pressure area in northwestern Bay of Bengal, heavy rainfall is expected in several districts of Odisha till August 26, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Authorities released 412 cusecs of water from the Mangalpur Barrage of the Indravati Project into Hati River, which was already in spate, causing flash floods in its embankments this morning, officials said.

Odisha schools shut amid heavy rain

Floodwaters entered low-lying areas of Talpada, Bankapala and Jampadar villages under Kalampur block. The block administration, led by BDO Vijay Kumar Marandi, rescued 293 people from both Paruaguda and Bodelbandh villages and provided them with free ration, an official said. Road communication from Junagarh to Kalampur and Thuamul Rampur Road to Kashipur has been disrupted due to heavy rain.

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In view of the rainfall forecast, district administrations have announced that all schools and anganwadi centres in Nabarangpur, and 89 schools in vulnerable areas of Bhadrak would remain closed on Monday. Several areas in the state received heavy to extreme heavy downpour in the last 24 hours till 8.30 this morning. Of those, at least two places recorded over 200 mm of rainfall.

Thuamula Rampur in Kalahandi district recorded extreme heavy rainfall of 345 mm, while Kashipur in Rayagada district received 212 mm of downpour, the weather office said. Nineteen other places recorded between 100 mm and 200 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, it said.

The upper air cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal off the West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts intensified into a low-pressure area during early Sunday morning, the IMD said. The system is likely to move northwestwards across north Odisha adjoining Gangetic West Bengal in the next 24 hours, it said.

Odisha weather: IMD issues orange, yellow alerts

The weather office also issued an 'orange' warning (be prepared to take action) for Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, and Boudh districts for Monday. Similarly, a 'yellow warning' (be aware) has been issued for Balasore, Deogarh, Anugul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Nuapada, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nawarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, and Nayagada.

Thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning and gusty surface wind, are expected in many other places across Odisha, the IMD said. Squally weather, with wind speed of 40-60 kmph, was likely to prevail over the Bay of Bengal and along and off the West Bengal coast and adjoining Odisha till Monday.

The IMD advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along the Odisha coast till August 24 as conditions would be rough. Meanwhile, Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling, accompanied by Director of Public Health, Rabindranath Mishra, visited Bhadrak on Sunday and reviewed the flood situation.

Bhadrak flood: 16 medical centres opened

As part of the emergency response, 16 medical relief centres have been opened in the worst-affected areas of Dhamnagar, Bhandaripokhari, Chandabali and Tihidi blocks of the coastal district, officials said. Besides, eight rapid response teams (RRTs) and 10 mobile health units have been deployed in the affected areas of Bhadrak, with health workers conducting continuous house-to-house surveillance, they said.

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Nearly 3 lakh people in 244 villages across five blocks of the district have been affected by the floods. Adequate supply of anti-snake venom, bleaching powder, halazone tablets and ORS has been given to meet emergency requirements.

According to officials, 16 snake-bite cases and 107 cases of acute diarrhoeal disease (ADD) have been reported in the district so far, while 12,786 people have received treatment for minor ailments. Disease surveillance has also been intensified, with 21 rectal swabs and 657 water samples collected so far for monitoring and prevention of water-borne and other communicable diseases.