Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government alerted collectors of several districts on Sunday to stay prepared to face any eventuality in view of the heavy rain under the influence of a deep depression over the east-central Bay of Bengal.
The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), in a letter to the collectors of districts under a ‘Yellow’ warning, has instructed them to keep the administrative machinery ready to face any eventuality.
The SRC has issued a notification based on the mid-day bulletin of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), which has predicted heavy rainfall from August 6 to August 9, 2024.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a ‘Yellow’ warning for the districts of Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Khordha, Puri, and Jagatsinghpur, predicting chances of heavy rainfall (7 to 11 cm) from 8:30 am on August 6 to 8:30 am on August 7.
Meanwhile, thunderstorms with lightning are very likely to occur in one or two places over the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khordha, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Kandhamal, and Rayagada.
Similarly, from 8:30 am on August 7 to 8:30 am on August 8, the IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20 cm) to occur in one or two places over the districts of Cuttack, Boudh, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, and Deogarh, and heavy rainfall (7 to 11 cm) in Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Khordha, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Bolangir, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, and Sonepur.
For August 8 (8:30 am) to August 9 (8:30 am), the weather office has predicted heavy rainfall likely to occur in the districts of Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Bargarh, Sonepur, Bolangir, Nuapada, Angul, Dhenkanal, and Jharsuguda.
In urban areas, low-lying areas may experience water logging, and roads and drains may be submerged under water. The ULBs must keep the drains/stormwater channels de-congested, and adequate de-watering pumps may be deployed as per requirement, according to the official letter from the SRC.
Advice for fishermen should be strictly implemented.
The collectors have been asked to submit a report on damage, if any, due to heavy rainfall immediately for the government’s information.
