Heavy Rain Claims Toddler's Life in Odisha, Flood Threat Looms Large

A two-year-old girl died and several others were affected as depression-induced rainfall lashed Odisha, with flood fears looming large in the Baitarani River, officials said on Monday.

The girl, identified as Chandini Munda, died due to a wall collapse in Thakurmunda area in Mayurbhanj district on Sunday night.

"The girl was sleeping in a dilapidated house along with her mother. Though two others escaped, the little girl died," Thakurmunda police station inspector-in-charge Tushar Ranjan Nayak said.

A 45-year-old man, identified as Suresh Maharana, went missing after being swept away by a sudden surge of water in a drainage channel at Bagdihipada on the outskirts of Sambalpur on Sunday night.

"Two persons were attempting to cross the drainage channel on a motorcycle when rainwater gushed through the channel with great force. One man was rescued and another is missing," Sambalpur district Collector Siddheshwar Baliram Bondar said.

He said several people in Sambalpur town were evacuated and kept in safe shelter as rainwater entered their houses due to heavy downpour. Free kitchen was run for about 270 affected people in the district.

Similar incidents of water-logging have been reported from almost all the urban pockets, including Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, a Revenue Department official said, adding that incessant rainfall affected normal life both in urban and rural areas, with roads remaining submerged disrupting vehicular movement.

Many urban bodies have been using pumps to flush out rainwater from the low-lying areas, the official said.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall in the upper and middle catchment of the Baitarani River has increased the possibility of minor flooding in low-lying areas of Jajpur and Bhadrak districts.

Water Resources Department engineer-in-chief Dillip Kumar Rout, said the river is expected to cross the danger level and the areas downstream have been put on alert.

According to the Water Resources Department, some blocks in Jajpur and Bhadrak districts may experience minor to moderate flooding in the next 24 hours.

The Baitarani basin has received 73 mm of rainfall. While Odisha recorded a 47 per cent rainfall deficit in June, it already received 327.3 mm of rainfall against the normal average of 271.6 mm in July.

Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said, "Though water levels in all rivers have increased, none have so far crossed the danger mark. The water level of Baitarani River could cross the danger mark at Akhuapada. However, there is a bit of relief as the rain has stopped and the water may pass through the river without causing much damage." Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said the state government has already taken adequate measures to mitigate the situation.

"We have kept boats and polythene sheets ready and positioned rescue teams at vulnerable places. Dry food and medicines have also been stored for any emergency," Patil said.

Though there is no such problem in the Mahanadi river system, the authorities may release waters on July 9 as inflow into the Hirakud Dam has increased and is expected to touch around two lakh cusecs by Tuesday.

Pujari said the state government has already put all the district collectors on alert keeping in view the IMD forecast which said that the rainfall would continue till Tuesday.

Keeping in view the weather situation, several district administrations on Monday declared all educational institutions closed in view of the heavy rainfall. According to the Revenue Department, schools and colleges remained shut in Cuttack, Kandhamal, Sambalpur, Sonepur and Bargarh districts.

Meanwhile, the IMD, in its evening bulletin, said the depression over south Jharkhand and adjoining north interior Odisha moved west-northwestwards at a speed of 25 kmph in the past six hours.

The system lays about 40 km east-southeast of Jashpurnagar (Chhattisgarh), 100 km west-southwest of Ranchi (Jharkhand), 110 km south-southeast of Daltonganj (Jharkhand) and 120 km east of Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh). It is very likely to move nearly northwestwards across Jharkhand, north Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas of east Uttar Pradesh and east Madhya Pradesh in the next 24 hours.

The IMD has issued 'orange' (be prepared to take action) warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall over the districts of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sonepur, Nuapada, Bolangir and 'yellow' warning (be aware) of heavy rainfall in the districts of Angul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Boudh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur.

However, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar Director Manorama Mohanty said the intensity of rain will significantly reduce across the state on Tuesday.

According to the IMD, 12 places in the state received more than 200 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am on Monday. Sonepur recorded the highest rainfall at 328.4 mm.

The IMD advised fishermen not to venture into Bay of Bengal along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coast till July 7.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)