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Odisha floods: Situation near Mahanadi river remains grim, over 1.5 lakh people affected

Mahanadi river near the Mundali barrage continued to swell and the situation could be even worse in the delta region comprising Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Khurda district.

Odisha floods: Situation in Mahanadi river remains grim, over 1.5 lakh people affected AJR
Author
Bhubaneswar, First Published Aug 17, 2022, 4:18 PM IST

A senior official on Wednesday said the flood situation in Odisha's Mahanadi river system remained grim as it continued to swell, with around 1.5 lakh people in 237 villages being marooned. It is reported that the first flood of the season has affected over two lakh people in 10 districts, while more than 27,000 people have been evacuated and taken to temporary shelters so far.

Speaking to news agency PTI, BK Mishra, the Engineer in Chief of the water Resources Department said, "The water level in Hirakud Dam stands at 626.47 feet against the full reservoir level of 630 feet. The reading at Mundali barrage near Cuttack declined to 11,77,024 cusecs against 12 lakh cusecs on Tuesday. We expect this water level to continue for another 24 hours."

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Mahanadi river near the Mundali barrage continued to swell and the situation could be even worse in the delta region comprising Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Khurda district.

The official said while above 6.24 lakh cusecs of flood water is entering into the reservoir, 6.81 lakh cusecs is being discharged through 40 gates at Hirakud dam.

According to reports, over 2 lakh people in 1,366 villages and nine urban local bodies in 10 districts along the Mahanadi basin have so far been affected by the flood triggered by a week-long, depression-induced rainfall.

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"The flow of flood water has reached its peak in the Mahanadi delta region after midnight of Tuesday," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said.

The SRC also said breaches have been reported at two places in the Mahanadi river system - one in Makara river in Puri district and the other at Rajua Raiki in Khurda district.

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Meanwhile, the meteorological department has forecast the formation of a fresh low pressure area over northern Bay of Bengal by Friday. It is likely to cause widespread and heavy rain in the state.

On Wednesday, the Met office also issued a 'yellow warning' for heavy rainfall in 10 districts of north coastal Odisha.

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