Stories
Odisha Floods: Villages Inundated Despite Receding River Levels; Relief Efforts Underway
- •Water levels in major Odisha rivers, including the Mahanadi, have receded below danger marks, but many villages remain inundated.
- •Balasore is among the worst-affected districts, with 40 villages in Balaispal gram panchayat still marooned by the Subarnarekha river.
- •Relief camps are operating in schools and along roadsides, providing cooked food to affected people in Balasore and Jajpur.
- •Floods from the Salandi river affected 172 villages in Bhadrak, while Mahanadi floods impacted Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, and Kendrapara.
- •43 ODRAF and NDRF teams are deployed, and Rs 10 crore has been released for relief work in Ganjam, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, and Jharsuguda.
Key Questions Answered
Balasore was among the worst-affected districts after rivers like the Subarnarekha, Budhabalang, and Jalaka swelled following heavy rain. Other heavily impacted districts included Jajpur, Bhadrak, and Jagatsinghpur, where numerous villages remained inundated and residents took shelter in relief camps and along roads.
A total of 43 ODRAF and NDRF teams were deployed in the affected areas, including 14 in Balasore and nine in Bhadrak, to manage rescue efforts and distribute relief. Additionally, Additional Special Relief Commissioner Padmanav Behera released Rs 10 crore for relief work covering house-building assistance, crop-loss assistance, and camp expenditures in badly affected districts.
Water levels in all major rivers in Odisha, including the Mahanadi, have receded below the danger mark. The Water Resources Department regulated the discharge into the Mahanadi by releasing water through 19 gates of the Hirakud reservoir, while the discharge at Mundali near Cuttack declined to around seven lakh cusecs.
