The Odisha government on Wednesday issued fresh alerts for low-lying districts along the Mahanadi basin as excess water released from the Hirakud reservoir began passing through the river system at Mundali near Cuttack, according to officials.
While authorities expect limited overall impact, the surge in the water level is likely to cause temporary inundation in low-lying areas across Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Puri districts.
Simultaneously, district administrative teams intensified relief and rescue operations in already submerged areas impacted by previous rounds of flooding, officials said.
With 80,284 people across three districts currently reeling from floodwaters, the IMD has issued yellow and orange weather alerts predicting heavy rainfall in the coming days.
Dillip Kumar Rout, Engineer-in-Chief (EIC) of the Water Resources Department, said that water discharge at the Mundali barrage stood at around 6 lakh cubic feet per second (cusec) around noon and was projected to reach up to 6.70 lakh cusec by evening following water releases from Hirakud dam.
He noted that the minor flood peak would stay contained within the river banks for about 9 to 10 hours before draining out into the Bay of Bengal.
“The water level could touch around 6.5 lakh cusec to 6.7 lakh cusec. A minor flood passes through river Mahanadi. It will not have much impact, but could inundate certain low-lying areas of Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Puri district,” Rout said.
Though the minor surge could submerge low-lying agricultural fields, it is unlikely to cause serious damage to villages, the officer noted, adding that Hirakud dam authorities have opened 19 sluice gates to manage reservoir inflows.
He explained that heavy downpours in the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi basin had significantly increased the inflow of water into the reservoir.
The water level at Hirakud stood at 623 feet against its full reservoir capacity of 630 feet. “We need to maintain buffer capacity at Hirakud as the IMD has forecasted more heavy rainfall in the coming days,” he added.
Swollen by heavy heavy in Chhattisgarh, the Mahanadi previously recorded a season-peak flood flow of 8.88 lakh cusec through Mundali on the night of July 30.
Meanwhile, reports from Cuttack district revealed that the Maa Charchika temple in Badamba area, situated along the banks of the Mahanadi, has been inundated, prompting local administration and priests to prepare for shifting the deity, officials said.
Rout assured that water levels across other major rivers, including the Baitarani, Brahmani, Subarnarekha, and Salandi, remain below danger mark.
The state government stated that the overall rainfall and flood situation across Odisha remains stable and under control.
“Rescue and relief operations ensured for the people,” it said, adding that the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) was working round the clock to ensure safety and security of life and property.
According to the latest update from the SRC, a total of 13,50,306 people across 1,895 villages in 10 districts have been hit by heavy rains and flooding between August 13 and August 26.
Authorities are closely monitoring rising water levels, waterlogging, embankment breaches, and transport disruptions across Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, and Kendrapara districts.
“Though the overall situation is presently stable, the SRC office focuses on the districts of Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Jajpur where the people have encountered multiple flood and inundation problems since July 8,” an official said.
As per data received up to 8:30 AM on Wednesday, the state recorded an average rainfall of 3.2 mm over the preceding 24 hours. The highest rainfall of 49.0 mm was recorded in the Bamra block of Sambalpur district.
Between August 1 and August 26, cumulative state rainfall reached 347.7 mm, marking a 16.4 percent surplus above the long-term normal of 298.6 mm.
Similarly, during the current monsoon season, from June 1 to August 26, the state has received a total rainfall of 1,103.9 mm, representing a 30.9 percent surplus compared to the normal average of 843.0 mm.
According to the latest report, nine blocks across Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Jajpur districts remain actively impacted by floodwaters.
In total, 80,284 people across 189 villages in 68 Gram Panchayats are affected by inundation, with crop damage reported over 1,02,481 hectares of agricultural land.
A task force of 57 response teams, comprising ODRAF, NDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, and police personnel, has been deployed to carry out rescue and relief operations.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday predicted another week-long wet spell, placing several districts under yellow (heavy rain 7 to 11 cm) and orange warnings (very heavy rain 12 to 20 cm) between August 27 and September 2.
Rainfall intensity across the state is expected to escalate from August 29.
In its midday bulletin, the IMD issued a yellow warning for heavy rain in some places over the worst flood-hit districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, and Mayurbhanj districts, alongside thundershower warnings across 24 other districts up to 8:30 AM on Thursday.
