The Odisha government on Sunday issued a warning for a massive flood in Subarnarekha River Basin, which would hit the Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts – the biggest flood in a decade.
While the government is preparing to face a grim situation due to the impending flood, the number of lives lost in the current phase of flood and rain has gone up to 10, including the death of five children in a wall collapse and rain-related incidences.
The situation arose as Jharkhand was releasing about 6 lakh CUSEC of water by opening 16 gates at Galudihi Barrage. The reason behind the discharge of a huge amount of water was that Jharkhand and Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district recorded heavy rain under the influence of a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal on Saturday. In 2008, Balasore was hit by a high flood when around 4 lakh CUSEC water was released by Jharkhand.
The peak of the flood would be felt in two districts for 24 hours from Sunday afternoon to Monday evening. In view of the alarming situation, people were evacuated from low-lying areas to safer places on a war-footing basis in the Balasore district.
“As per the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the power of Special Relief Commissioner has been delegated to District Collector of Balasore to manage the emergency situation arising out of the high floods in Subarnarekha. Further, Odisha CM has ordered to place one helicopter with Balasore district collector for dealing with the emergency,” informed P. K. Jena, Special Relief Commissioner.
Moreover, Pratap Keshari Deb, Energy Minister, has been asked to stay stationed in the Balasore district to oversee rescue and relief operations.
The water level at Jamsola Ghat, a river gauging station over the Subarnareka River, was measured at 53.18 metres which was four metres above the danger level.
“Jharkhand government informed us that they were forced discharge water from Galudihi barrage following heavy rain. Raibanei of Mayurbhanj district and Baliapal, Bahanaga, Bhograi, Jaleswar, and Basta of Balasore district would be impacted most by this flood. In view of the flood threat, the Balasore district administration has deployed officers to a cluster of villages,”
“Earlier, one unit each of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and National Disaster Response Force was deployed in the area. Now, we have deployed nine disaster response teams (five NDRF and four ODRAF) there,” said Mr. Jena.
In addition to this, 12 additional fire service teams have been deployed. Balasore district administration would have 40 operational teams at its disposal for any eventuality. Balasore district has been authorised to use local boats for relief operations after the receding of floodwater.
The situation in the Burhabalanga River basin is under control. Although Mayurbhanj received heavy rain, the water level did not rise in Barhabalanga. In fact, the water level was on a falling trend, said the government.
As far as the Baitarani River is concerned, water was flowing at 18.95 metres against the danger level of 17.83 at Akhupada in the Keonjhar district. However, the water level was too coming down in Anandpur. The government was not expecting a flood in the Baitarani River system. The Bhadrak and Jajpur districts have been alerted. The flood situation in the Mahanadi River system has improved. (EOM)
