Heavy rain has lashed most parts of Odisha, especially southern districts, since Saturday sending rivers like Vansadhara and Rushikulya into spate, cutting off roads and flooding many areas.
Two women died in a crop field and nine others sustained injuries when lightning struck at Mahaguda village under the Bhanjanagar sub-division of Ganjam district. A mother-daughter duo were injured in lightning strike at Rajamatu village in Nabarangpur district. One person was missing after being swept away by the swirling waters of the Nagabali river.
Water level rising
The water level was steadily rising at all six river gauge sites of Vansadhara and Rushikulya. The water level in Rushikulya was rising at three river gauge sites – Sorada, Madhabarida and Purusottampur. Other rivers, Baitarani in Keonjhar and Hati in Kalahandi, were swelling due to heavy rain received during the past 24 hours. Many areas in Kalahandi, Ganjam and Rayagada districts were inundated following heavy rain.
Kotraguda in Vansadhara basin received 234.8 mm of rainfall while Purusottampur in Rushikulya basin recorded 165 mm of rain.
A low pressure area that formed over northwest of the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a well-marked low pressure area. “Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at a few places in southern Odisha district with extremely heavy rain at one or two places over Rayagada, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Balangir, Nuapada and Nabarangpur districts,” said H. R. Biswas, head of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.