The water level in the river Subarnarekha receded on Friday and flowed below the danger mark, though several villages in Odisha's Balasore district remained submerged, officials said.
Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi visited the flood-hit areas in Balasore district to assess the damage and oversee relief efforts, as the water level in river Subarnarekha continued to recede.
According to the water resources department, the water level of Subarnarekha at Rajghat was recorded at 9.63 meters, below the danger level of 10.36 meters. The river had reached 10.80 meters on Thursday, but the levels began to fall on Friday.
A total of 141 villages were affected by the recent flood, triggered by deep depression-induced rainfall earlier this week. Around 21,085 people from five blocks in Balasore district were evacuated to safer areas, and the affected residents have been staying in 51 relief camps for the past three days, as per a report from the Special Relief Commissioner’s (SRC) office. The calamity has also damaged 130 houses.
Odisha’s Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, Suresh Pujari, stated, "This year as many as 20 districts have been affected by flood in two phases. There was no loss of life, but crops, agricultural lands, and houses have been damaged in different districts. Authorities have been asked to submit a damage assessment report within seven days."
In the first phase, southern districts like Malkangiri and Koraput experienced floods, damaging cultivated lands, with Malkangiri being more affected. "In the second phase, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, and Bhadrak were impacted by the floods," Pujari added. He emphasized that Balasore district was the worst-hit during the second phase.
The situation in Odisha highlights the urgent need for proactive flood management strategies and long term infrastructure development to prevent such large damage in the future. While the timely evacuation efforts have thankfully prevented the loss of life, the destruction of home and agricultural lands remains a significant setback for the affected communities. As authorities work on damage assessment and rehabilitation, there is a dire need to bolster disaster preparedness and enhance early warning systems to mitigate the impact of floods in vulnerable regions like Balasore.
(This story has been reworked slightly from an auto-generated PTI feed.)
