Heavy floods in rivers Budhabalanga and Subarnarekha jeopardised life of people in the districts of Baleswar and Mayurbhanj.
Army, Air force, Navy, NDRF and ODRAF teams were pressed into services and RDC (Central) Arabinada Padhee rushed to the areas to coordinate the entire operations.
With more than seven lakh people being affected in Baleswar district, massive rescue operations were in full swing, said Dr Padhee.
On Monday, four persons died and nearly 7. 01 lakh people were affected in 930 villages of 144 gram panchayats in Baleswar district when heavy rains triggered by a waning cyclone Phailin caused severe floods in the Budhabalanga and Subarnarekha.
About 68,521 hectares of paddy field are submerged and people are cursing their fate as this time they were expecting bumper crop. The swelling rivers flooded two National Highways, cutting four blocks off altogether from the rest of the world.
Thousands of people had to take shelter on roofs of houses and schools. The Central forces rescued the stranded people, most of whom were still in the cyclone shelters. On Tuesday, more than 80,000 people were taken to safety by the teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army and the Navy.
As many as 25 units of NDRF and 10 units of ODRAF were engaged in the rescue operations, said a senior official. Special Director General of Police Sanjeev Marik coordinated the movements of forces.
People were marooned in Baripada town, the headquarters of Mayurbhaj district alleged that the district authorities were off guard as the Budhabalanga swelled up hours after the Phailin hit Gopalpur in Ganjam district, leaving almost the entire town submerged.
It was an unprecedented flood in Baripada, with people describing it as the biggest flood after the one in 1973. More than 60,000 people were affected in the calamity.
However, on Tuesday, the floodwaters, both in the Budhabalanga and Subarnarekha, were receding and the situation was under control in Baleswar, said Dr Padhee. But the flood situation in north Baleswar was grim and rescue operations were planned to save people, said the RDC.
In the neighbouring Bhadrakh district, the flood situation was also serious with Dhamnagar block facing the worst floods and people taking shelter on rooftops. Rescue operations were yet to be launched in the area and the hapless people were facing a tough time.