Bhubaneswar: A ‘low to medium’ flood is likely in the Mahanadi river system by Thursday evening when the flow of water at Mundali is expected to reach its peak following incessant rains during the last couple of days, said engineer-in-chief of the Water Resources Department, Bhakta Ranjan Mohanty.
“The water flow in the Mahanadi river at Mundalu is likely to be around 9 to 9.5 lakh cusecs by the evening. The floodwater will reach Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, and Puri districts on Friday and flood the low-lying areas in these districts,” he said.
There is apprehension of a medium-scale flood. At least 481 villages in 12 districts have been affected by incessant rains. Collectors have been asked to submit damage assessment reports after rain subsides. Preparations have been made in seven districts in view of possible flood in the Mahanadi river system, the SRC office said in a Tweet on Thursday.
Earlier, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) had issued a notification saying that around 8 lakh cusecs of floodwater are likely to pass in the Mahanadi at Mundali near Cuttack city by Thursday noon. The District Collectors of Angul, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, and Kendrapada have been asked to take precautionary measures and guard weak embankments.
The SRC also directed ensuring 24×7 patrolling of vulnerable river embankments with the support of local police and DoWR engineers, evacuation of people from low-lying areas as may be required, and shifting them to safe shelter buildings with light, toilets, and water and food arrangements.
Meanwhile, 8 NDRF teams, 13 ODRAF teams, and 23 Fire Services teams have also been deployed in 15 districts, including Bhadrak, Jajpur, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Sonepur, Boudh, Kandhamal, Balasore, Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada for search and rescue operations.
