Bhubaneswar: Flood waters of the Mahanadi inundated several villages in coastal Odisha on Sunday with over 10 lakh cusec flowing through the Mundali barrage near Cuttack, officials said.
Noting that an inflow of even 7 lakh cusec at Mundali usually triggers flood in the Daya and the Bhargavi, the two tributaries of the Mahanadi, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said, the flood waters have submerged many villages in Kanasa and Delang blocks in Puri district causing two breaches in the embankments of the Daya and another in the Rajua in Khurda district.
The recent rain and flood in the state claimed at least 17 lives, besides affecting over 14.32 lakh people in 3,256 villages and 21 urban areas of 20 districts, the SRC said.
As per the preliminary assessment, as many as 10,382 houses have been damaged and 1,68,904 crop area affected due to the flood which left over 2.65 lakh people marooned in 340 villages.
Formation of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal had triggered heavy downpour in Odisha since Monday. This was the fifth low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal this month causing heavy rainfall in the state.
