Medium Flood Likely In Mahanadi, Rescue & Relief Teams Mobilised: SRC

Bhubaneswar: As incessant rain is continuing in upper catchment areas of Hirakud Dam, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena on Sunday said incessant rain in the last couple of days has led to a possible flood-like situation in several rivers, especially Mahanadi.

While a medium flood is imminent in the Mahanadi river basin of the State as heavy rains continue, the IMD has forecast 76 mm rains in Chattisgarh on Monday. This means more water will flow into Odisha (Hirakud dam) so, the water level will rise to 10.50 lakh cusec through the reservoir, he added.

“We are expecting a medium flood of the range of the one which occurred during August in 2019. During that flood 10.34 lakh cusec water passed through the Hirakud reservoir. Districts to be affected by this flood are – Jagathsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, and Kendrapara. Some parts of Nayagarh and Cuttack districts are also likely to be affected,” Jena said.

The SRC added that Mahanadi basin will witness the peak flood by tomorrow afternoon when the water released from Hirakud reaches Mundali. The water level in Mundali on Monday evening is expected to be around 10.50 lakh cusec.

Total 7 teams of ODRAF, 3 of the NDRF and 12 teams from Odisha Fire Service have been mobilised to the vulnerable areas in Puri, Kendrapara, Khurda, Cuttack,
Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh.

“The good news is that there is no threat to the Bramhani river basin as the water level in Rengali dam remains at 18% of the reservoir capacity. Similarly, there is not much threat to Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga and rivers in the southern part like Jalaka,” Jena added.

It is pertinent to be mentioned that the Water Resources department has commissioned several senior engineers to the places which are likely to be affected by the flood. The administration of these districts have been placed on high alert for rescue and relief operations as per necessity.