The Odisha government on Saturday started shifting people in low-lying areas to safety as all rivers in the state have swelled due to heavy rainfall over the past few days, and the Hirakud Dam has opened 16 gates to release excess water into the Mahanadi, officials said.
Flash floods have been reported from Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Keonjhar and Jagatsinghpur districts.
In Balasore alone, 14,660 people in 91 villages were affected as rivers flowing in spate inundated vast swathes of land. An official said 3,268 people have been removed from these areas.
According to officials at the Water Resources Department, 11 more gates of the Hirakud Dam had to be opened on Saturday to release excess water from the reservoir. A total of 16 sluice gates have been opened, they said.
“We have to open more gates due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi river in Chhattisgarh. At present, water level is 629.56 feet against the fu
Read more at the source
Disclaimer: The content of this post is sourced from external sites and is for informational purposes only. All rights and credits belong to the original authors and publishers.