Normal life hit in southern Odisha due to heavy rainfall

Bhubaneswar, Aug 18 (PTI) Normal life was affected in southern Odisha on Monday as low-pressure induced rain lashed Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Gajapati and Koraput districts, officials said.

Due to continuous downpour over the last two days, many low-lying areas in Malkangiri district have been inundated by floodwaters.

Water was flowing four feet above Pottaru, Kangurkonda, Kalimela Kanyashram bridges, they said.

Similarly, Malkangiri-Motu-Jeypore National Highway 326 remained out of bounds for vehicles as water was flowing above the road in some places, they said, adding that due to the submergence of the bridges, many vehicles including passenger buses were stranded.

The Chalanguda Bridge on Malkangiri-Sukma Road has also been submerged, cutting off communication with Chhattisgarh, the officials said.

A portion of the boundary wall of the Malkangiri airport has collapsed due to heavy downpour, they said.

In view of this, the Malkangiri district administration has been vigilant to ensure no loss of life or property. All the panchayat and block level employees have been instructed to be alert, they said.

The local administrations in all the flood-prone areas have been instructed to remain ready to evacuate the people to the safe shelters, an officer of Malkangiri district said.

The Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) team and Fire Service personnel have been instructed to remain ready for any exigency.

All schools and Anganwadi Centers in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts have remained closed in view of the heavy rainfall. The district collectors concerned have issued separate orders for this purpose.

In Koraput district, landslides were reported in Kakirigumma area, because of which vehicular movement on the road connecting Kakirigumma and Talameting, and Narayanpatna and Talagumandi was disrupted.

Reports of uprooting of trees was also reported in Gajapati district due to continuous rain for last two days, they said.

Meanwhile, the IMD said that the state, in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am on Monday, recorded 19 mm of rainfall, the highest of 133 mm being recorded at Kotpad in Koraput district, followed by 108.6 mm at Malkangiri.

The weather agency, in its latest statement, said that the well-marked low pressure area over westcentral and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts, is likely to intensify into a depression over next 12 hours.

Southern Odisha is likely to get heavy rainfall till Tuesday afternoon, the IMD said.

As the sea conditions are very likely to be rough, the IMD suggested fishermen not to venture into the deep sea from August 18 to Aug 20.

Those out at sea may return to coast by Monday, it said.

The weather office also issued 'red' warning (take action), predicting extremely heavy rainfall (20 cm and above) in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabrangpur districts in southern region of the state. It also forecast heavy rainfall (below 20 cm) in 12 other districts and thunderstorm in 15 districts. PTI COR BBM AAM AAM ACD