Odisha, which has already been experiencing incessant rain for the last two days, will receive more downpour due to the formation of a low pressure area in the eastern region, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday.
The forecast has led the state administration to alert all collectors, asking them to be prepared for any exigency caused by the heavy rainfall. The Met department said that the low pressure area has been formed over northern Odisha and adjoining parts of West Bengal and Jharkhand.
In the last 24 hours, Kirmira in Jharsuguda district received the highest rainfall of 215 mm, followed by 184.8 mm in Laikera in Jharsuguda, 166 mm in Bhadrak, 160 mm in Kuchinda, 150 mm in Dhamnagar, 139 mm in Kolabira and 138 mm in Bhandaripokhari, according to the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.
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Heavy rain caused water-logging in Bhubaneswar, throwing traffic out of gear, while many slums and low-lying areas were inundated. The IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall of 7-11 cm for 24 hours from 8.30 am on July 17 in Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Nuapada, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Sonepur, Deogarh, Nabarangapur, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kalahandi and Bargarh districts.
Similar amount of rainfall may occur for 24 hours from 8.30 am on July 18 in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Khordha, Puri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangapur and Nuapada districts.
Meanwhile, Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Satyabrata Sahu wrote a letter to all the district collectors, asking them to remain vigilant and keep a close watch on the situation in areas for which orange (be updated) and yellow (be prepared) alerts have been issued.
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"Keep the field level functionaries at places to tackle the problems of flash floods or water-logging. The officials should not leave headquarters," the letter read. Noting that there are possibilities of water-logging in low-lying areas in urban pockets, the SRC said the authorities must keep drain water channel de-congested and adequate dewatering pumps may be deployed as per the requirement.
