Over 50,000 Affected, Villages Submerged After Overflowing River Floods Odisha's Balasore

The Subarnarekha River, which flows through Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, has flooded large parts of Balasore district in Odisha, affecting over 50,000 people and inundating dozens of villages.

Heavy rains and the release of excess water from Jharkhand pushed the Subarnarekha River to flow above the danger mark of 10.36 meters, inundating 61 villages in 21 gram panchayats of Baliapal, Basta, Bhograi and Jaleswar blocks.

Authorities, on Saturday, issued an alert as the water level in the Subarnarekha river crossed the danger mark, creating a flood threat in some parts of the district.

Visuals from flood-affected areas show floodwaters continued to rise for three days, washing away homes, roads and fields in muddy torrents. In such a situation, families were forced to flee with children and cattle, moving to wherever high ground they could find.

The flood-like situation worsened as the Galudih barrage in Jharkhand released excess water, which accumulated due to incessant rains. The sudden increase in the inflow worsened the flood situation in the downstream areas of the Subarnarekha river in Odisha.

The Baliapal, Bhograi, Basta and Jaleswar blocks have been inundated as water from the Chandil Dam in Jharkhand released excess water, reportedly without enough notice. 

District authorities say Bhograi block is the worst-hit, where five gram panchayats, including Kusuda and Gabgan, were submerged this morning.

One person has reportedly gone missing after being swept away by floodwater. Authorities say 50 villages have been cut off as the water level of the Subarnarekha river receded below the danger mark on Sunday.

The Odisha Government has deployed boats and teams from the Fire Service, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and one National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team to assist in the rescue-and-relief operations. 

(With inputs from Dev Kumar Ghosh)