Odisha is going through another tough round of flooding, and honestly, things aren’t slowing down anytime soon. The India Meteorological Department, or IMD, has issued a fresh red alert for extremely heavy rain in Baleshwar and Mayurbhanj districts, warning that some areas could get more than 20 cm of rain within just 24 hours.
So how bad is the situation right now? According to officials, close to 5 lakh people across north Odisha have already been affected by the flooding. Around 503 villages spread across 52 blocks in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, and Keonjhar districts are dealing with rising water levels, mostly because of overflowing rivers like the Baitarani, Brahmani, Salandi, Jalaka, and Budhabalanga.
What’s making this even trickier is that a fresh low-pressure system has formed over the Bay of Bengal, and it’s expected to bring another wave of heavy rain over the next couple of days. The IMD says this system could turn into a depression soon, which basically means the rain isn’t done yet, even though some rivers have started showing early signs of receding.
Odisha’s Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, personally visited flood-hit areas in Jajpur district, including Kasapa and Tarapada panchayats, to check on relief efforts on the ground. The state government has also placed district collectors on high alert, and officials in urban development departments have been told to stay prepared for anything that comes up.
For families living in these flood-hit regions, temporary shelters have already been set up, offering food, clean drinking water, and basic medical support. Rescue teams, including Odisha’s Disaster Rapid Action Force and local fire services, have been placed on standby in case things get worse.
Fishermen along the coast have also been told to stay away from the sea until conditions calm down, since strong winds and rough waters are expected to continue for a few more days. Meanwhile, several inland districts, including Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Angul, and Sambalpur, remain under orange and yellow warnings, meaning heavy rain is still likely even outside the worst-hit red alert zones.
This isn’t the first time Odisha has dealt with flooding like this. Being close to the Bay of Bengal, the state regularly faces monsoon flooding almost every year, but officials say this particular spell has been unusually intense because of back-to-back weather systems forming one after another.
For now, people living in the affected districts are being urged to stay alert, follow evacuation instructions whenever they’re issued, and avoid unnecessary travel through flood-prone roads until the weather clears up.
(Sources: ANI, Onmanorama, OrissaPOST, Pragativadi)
