Flood situation improves, 500 villages marooned in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR/BALASORE: Even though the flood situation in Odisha has slightly improved in the northern districts on Thursday due to decrease in rainfall, over 500 villages are still cut off from other parts of the state.
The water level in the Baitarani and Budhabalanga rivers is receding, but floodwaters continued to flow above the danger mark in the Subarnarekha river, said sources in the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office.
Over four lakh people are affected by the flood in Jajpur, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts. The heavy flood has washed away more than 10,000 hectare of farmland in the affected districts.
So far, over 3,000 people have been evacuated and placed in seven shelters, sources said.
"We have deployed five teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and one unit of National Disaster Response Force. Four blocks in Balasore, three in Jajpur and one block in Bhadrak are severely hit by the floods," said SRC G V V Sharma.
He said the Baitarani has breached the embankments at two places in Jajpur, while Subarnarekha has done so at one place each in Bhadrak and Balasore districts. "The officials are hard at work and the breaches would be repaired by Friday morning," said Sharma.
The NDRF recovered the bodies of two people swept away by the floodwaters in Baliapal block of Balasore district. Locals have demanded compensation worth Rs 10 lakh from the deceased.
The state government has asked collectors of five north and coastal districts to remain watchful as the IMD has forecast report on the impact of cyclonic storm "Komen".
"The flood situation might aggravate if there is further rain from August 1. The district collectors were asked to remain prepared for heavy rain because of the cyclone," said water resources secretary P K Jena.
The water resources department has also released seasons first floodwaters from Rengali dam. "We have opened one gate in Rengali dam expecting decline in water level in the Subarnarekha river by Thursday night. We have alerted district collectors of Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur and Kendrapada to remain watchful," said Jena.