Bhubaneswar/Berhampur: Relentless rain in the aftermath of Cyclone Arnab pounded southern Odisha on Thursday, flooding villages, disrupting road and rail communication, and sending Rushikulya and Badanadi rivers surging, as more than 60,000 people were affected. Ganjam bore the brunt of the deluge, with Patrapur recording a staggering 546 mm of rain and Sorada 503 mm in 24 hours.As the state grappled with the post-cyclone flooding, Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and assured all possible assistance. Majhi said he briefed Shah on the situation and that central assistance would strengthen relief, rehabilitation and restoration efforts.Chief secretary Anu Garg said extremely heavy rainfall affected more than 40,000 people in Ganjam and 20,000 in Gajapati across 300 panchayats. Around 29,000 people were evacuated in the two districts, while 70 villages remained marooned.A 36-year-old man was swept away in the strong current of the spillway of Sorada reservoir in Ganjam district on Thursday. Panda Nayak, a resident of Baradi in Sorada, was watching the water gushing, when he was swept away, sources said.Special relief commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, however, has not confirmed any casualty.Rainwater, meanwhile, entered homes in Berhampur, Aska and Bhanjanagar, while several low-lying areas were inundated. Extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 200 mm was recorded at 15 places in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am Thursday.E T Rao, a retired banker from Nilachal Nagar, said he had never seen rainwater enter his Berhampur home before. “By morning, the ground floor was under two feet of water,” he said.In Kandhamal, G Udayagiri recorded 462.4 mm rain, Raikia 384.8 mm, K Nuagaon 240.8 mm and Phiringia 216 mm, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).Coast Guard deployed an ALH Mk-III helicopter after receiving a distress call from the Ganjam district administration Thursday morning. Braving severe weather, the crew reached the flooded public health centre at Jagmohan and winched six stranded people to safety before flying them to the Dharakote community health centre. The administration also planned to airlift 120 people stranded in different villages to safer places.Meanwhile, Rushikulya river was flowing around one metre above danger level at Aska, Sorada and Purushottampur. Its tributary Baghua was above the danger mark at Kabisuryanagar, while Loharkhadi at Bhanjanagar was at the danger level of 72.3 metres.Vamsadhara river at Kasinagar was flowing at 55.32 metres, above the danger level. By night, it receded to 52.5 metres, well below its danger mark, a govt statement said. Floodwaters affected Baghasala, Machhamara and Totagumuda villages in Gosani block. “We are constantly monitoring the situation in different water basins,” said Jagannath Pani, chief engineer of the Rushikulya, Vamsadhara and Nagabali river basin.Meanwhile, a large Gajalaxmi Puja pandal in Kendrapada town’s Sana Mangala locality collapsed amid incessant rain on Wednesday night, disrupting traffic for nearly three hours.Since it happened late at night when the venue was empty, a major disaster was averted, said inspector in charge of Kendrapada police station Suvendu Sahoo.Heavy rain also flooded several other puja pandals.Rail traffic was hit after water flowed over the tracks on the Ichchapuram-Jhadupudi section of Visakhapatnam division. At least 30 trains on the Howrah-Chennai route were cancelled.The weather threat is not over. The IMD has warned of more rain in the affected districts on Friday. A fresh low-pressure area over the south Andaman Sea is likely to intensify into a depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas around Oct 31 and subsequently move towards the Andhra Pradesh coast, raising the possibility of another spell of rain in south Odisha in early Nov.(With inputs from Ashis Senapati in Kendrapada)
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