Rain lashes South Odisha, one swept away in Malkangiri

Bhubaneswar/Malkangiri: Heavy rain under the influence of a low pressure over Bay of Bengal is lashing most parts of Odisha’s southern region. One person was swept away in Malkangiri district, which is facing flash floods yet again, officials said on Wednesday.

Malkangiri, which experienced flash floods last week, recorded the highest rainfall of 80.4 mm since Tuesday followed by 53 mm in Ganjam.

The Met office has sounded orange warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places in Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Koraput districts. Heavy rainfall is also likely at one or two places in Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Balangir, Nayagarh, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Mayurbhanj.

An official report said a person from Muduliguda village of Malkangiri district was swept away by the swirling waters when he went to farmland on Tuesday. His body was later found in a nearby canal.

The incessant rain since Tuesday night has led to the submergence of Kangurukonda bridge in Malkangiri, snapping road communication between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh via the NH-326, officials said.

A report from the district said rain water is flowing above the portion of the highway. Similar situation also prevailed in bridges at Poteru, MV-96 and Kanyashram, which resulted in hundreds of vehicles to be stranded on both sides of the road. The heavy rainfall has also marooned many areas under Kalimela block in Malkangiri district, it said.

The IMD said the intensity of the rainfall will increase once the well marked low pressure intensifies into a depression.“The well marked low pressure is likely to concentrate into a depression over the same region over the Bay of Bengal. Subsequently it is likely to slowly move west-northwestwards across north Andhra Pradesh-South Odisha coasts,” it said.

Odisha has received an average 9.7 mm rainfall during the past 24 hours. The average rainfall for the State from July 1 to July 26 is 259.3 mm against July monthly average of 339.9 mm, the IMD said.

It has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 cm to 20cm) at isolated places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada and Balangir districts.

There is also a forecast for heavy rainfall (7 cm to 11cm) at one or two places in Rayagada, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Nayagarh, Boudh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, Sonepur and Bargarh. Light to moderate rain and thundershower are likely to occur at most places in the State during the day, it added.