Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday reviewed its disaster preparedness amid the possibility of formation of a low-pressure area over the north Andaman Sea and said all necessary measures were being taken to deal with heavy rain and other weather-related eventualities.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, who chaired the high-level meeting at the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) conference hall at Rajiv Bhawan, said the state was in coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and urged people not to panic over unverified reports about the developing weather system.
According to the weather assessment discussed at the meeting, an upper-air cyclonic circulation was prevailing over northern Thailand at 8.30 am on September 18 and extended up to 9.4 km above mean sea level. It is likely to move towards the north Andaman Sea by Friday evening, with a low-pressure area likely to form over the region by September 19 evening.
The system is expected to gradually intensify and move west-northwestwards towards the south Odisha-north Andhra Pradesh coast over the subsequent three to four days. However, its likely intensity and precise track would become clearer over the next two days, the meeting was informed.
Pujari said the state government was fully prepared to respond to continuous rain, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall, and directed district Collectors to remain vigilant. He noted that Odisha had witnessed around 11 deep depressions and four low-pressure systems over the past two months, resulting in prolonged rainy conditions.
The minister also said assessment of flood-related damage during the current year had been completed and compensation disbursement was in its final phase. Around Rs 226 crore has so far been released towards damage to houses, crop losses, destruction of vegetables and loss of clothing and household articles. The remaining compensation would be distributed shortly, while steps were also being taken to restore agricultural land affected by sand deposition.
The meeting also discussed a proposal to integrate OSDMA with IIT Roorkee for surveys and management measures aimed at addressing flood situations caused by prolonged rainfall in urban areas.
Special Relief Commissioner and OSDMA Managing Director Rajesh Prabhakar Patil and senior officials of the department attended the meeting.
Pujari appealed to people to rely only on weather information issued by the IMD and other authorised government sources and ignore false or unverified reports.
