Two more people died in rain-related incidents in Odisha even as downpour subsided in most parts of the state, barring some western districts, officials said.
Yesterday, three people lost their lives in rain-related incidents after heavy downpour.
Though some areas still remained inundated due to the heavy rainfall for the last two days, the situation has improved considerably, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Bishnupada Sethi, said.
Though the water level in some rivers was on the rise earlier, it was now receding. The water level in major rivers is below the danger mark and there is no threat of a major flood at present, the SRC said.
While intensity of the rainfall declined in most parts of the state, some districts like Sambalpur, Bargarh, Boudh, Sonepur, Angul and Kandhamal witnessed heavy rain today, he said.
The SRC said Burla has registered a record rainfall of 622 mm in the last 24 hours.
The rainfall recorded at the Master Control Room of Hirakud Dam Project located at Burla is the highest ever among all the stations in Odisha, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
"This has crossed the previous highest rainfall record of 581.9 mm, measured by the IMD's rain gauge station at Sambalpur on August 19, 1982," an official said.
Sethi said Sambalpur city has recorded 490 mm rainfall during the last 24 hours. Similarly, 510 mm rainfall was measured in Maneswar, 487 mm in Dhankauda block of Sambalpur, 430 mm in Birmaharajpur and 380 mm in Boudh.
Noting that a few small rivers were cause of worry, he said the district collectors were asked to keep a close watch on the situation.
He said 12 wards in Sambalpur with a population of 1.25 lakh have been affected. Around 726 houses have been damaged while 326 families in these wards rescued and shifted to 34 temporary shelters. They have been provided with dry food.
People in low-lying areas of Sambalpur and its outskirts in Burla and Hirakud have been marooned by the rainwater. Twenty two relief camps have been opened where 2,346 people are accommodated, Sethi said, adding cooked food through free kitchen has been arranged for the evacuated people.
Personnel of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services were pressed into service to undertake rescue and relief operations in affected areas.
The situation in Sonepur district was grim following heavy rainfall since the last two days. Water level of river Tel is rising and road communication between Dharmasala to Kadaligarh was cut off at Pitamahal, an official said.
The situation was similar between Birmaharajpur and Subalaya as rain water was flowing over a bridge of Harihar Nullah near Jatesingha and another bridge over the Gungi Nullah near Bhutiapalli.
In Bargarh district, some villages of Attabira and Bheden Block and 5 wards of Baragarh Municipality area remained waterlogged due to heavy rain, he said.
The SRC said with the current spell, the average rainfall for the month of July so far has registered a surplus of 57.6 per cent of the long term average rainfall.
Similarly, the cumulative average rainfall of the state from June 1- 22 also registered a surplus of 18.3 per cent over the long term average rainfall and the state is no more facing a drought-like situation, he said.
Going by districts, 16 districts have received surplus rainfall of more than 19 per cent whereas 13 more received normal rainfall (+19 to -19 per cent) during the period since June 1, he said.
Meanwhile, the situation in places like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, which were hit by severe waterlogging following heavy downpour yesterday, improved considerably as the weather improved today.
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