Odisha's Balasore flooded, rivers swell past danger mark
Heavy rain lashed Odisha as the low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal intensified into a "depression" on Thursday and triggered flood fears in the northern districts.
The IMD, which had on Thursday morning issued a 'red warning' (take action) of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across Odisha, has categorised the state under 'orange' (be prepared to take action) and 'yellow' (be aware) categories, predicting heavy rainfall till 8.30 am on Friday.
The weather agency, in a bulletin issued at 8.30 pm, said, "The well-marked low-pressure area over coastal West Bengal and adjoining areas of Bangladesh and northwest Bay of Bengal, moved northwestwards, concentrated into a depression."
"It is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards across Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand over the next 24 hours," it said.
A depression is a weather system stronger than a low-pressure area but less intense than a tropical cyclone.
As the intensity of rainfall reduced after the system moved west-northwestwards, a senior scientist said the downpour is likely to decline across the state, but the weather office issued an 'orange' warning for four western districts of Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, and Sambalpur for Friday, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Similarly, a 'yellow' warning has been issued for nine districts of Balasore, Deogarh, Angul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Subarnapur, Boudh, Nuapada, Bolangir, predicting heavy rainfall.
Keeping in view the weather conditions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised fishermen not to venture into the Bay of Bengal till August 14.
According to the Meteorological Centre (MC) in Bhubaneswar, the highest rainfall of 236 mm was recorded at Bhograi in Balasore district, followed by 230 mm at Shyamakhuntam, 215 mm at Baripada in Mayurbhanj district and 204 mm at Rajghat in Balasore district.
Balasore town recorded the highest rainfall of 137 mm till 5.30 am on Thursday morning, while reports of very heavy rain were received from Similipal hills in Mayurbhanj.
The heavy rainfall in Mayurbhanj led to a rise in the water levels of rivers such as Budhabalanga and Jalaka in Balasore district. A large part of Balasore town has been waterlogged, an official said.
Heavy rain has also inundated parts of Rourkela.
Engineer-in-chief in the Water Resources Department, Dilip Kumar Rout ruled out the possibility of any major flood in the state.
He said a flood situation may emerge because of some swelling rivers such as Salandi and Jalaka.
Rout said the water level of Jalaka River has increased steadily and crossed the danger mark at Mathani in Basta block of Balasore district due to heavy rainfall in Mayurbhanj.
Areas like Rasagobindapur, Morada, Siliapada, and Chitrada in Mayurbhanj also experienced heavy downpour and flooding in some areas, the official said.
Revenue Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the situation worsened as the state witnessed back-to-back low pressure-induced rainfall in the last 12 days.
"The flood situation emerging in the urban areas due to the rainfall is a matter of grave concern. While it poses a threat to the livelihood of city residents, the government's inaction is causing even greater fear among the people," BJD president Naveen Patnaik said in a social media post.
"Odisha had earned a name for itself by firmly confronting major natural disasters day after day, yet this (BJP) government is failing even in managing rainwater in urban areas," the leader of the opposition in Odisha Assembly said.
