Overflowing Rivers Flood Northern Odisha, Prompting Urgent Relief

Relentless rainfall has triggered severe flooding across northern Odisha, submerging large parts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, and Sundargarh districts, officials reported on Monday. The Subarnarekha, Baitarani, and Brahmani rivers, swollen by heavy rains in their upper catchment areas, have breached danger levels, inundating villages, farmlands, and infrastructure.

In Balasore, the worst-hit district, the Subarnarekha River, flowing at 10.85 meters against a danger mark of 10.36 meters at Rajghat, flooded Balipal, Basta, Bhograi, and Jaleswar blocks. Over 10,000 residents in Bhograi alone are affected, with five panchayats cut off due to collapsed road connectivity, per OdishaTV. In Bhadrak, the Baitarani River, at 18.49 meters against a 18.33-meter danger mark at Akhuapada, inundated Dhamnagar and Bhandaripohgari blocks, prompting school and anganwadi closures for two days.

Jajpur’s Dasarathpur block saw villages submerged after a 30-meter breach in the Kani River embankment near Ahiyaas Bazar, a tributary of the Baitarani. In Sundargarh, the Brahmani River’s rising waters threaten the Sia Jora bridge near Jangla, flooding farmlands in Jangla, Jakeikela, and Lalei. Engineer-in-Chief Chandrasekhar Padhi noted that while Subarnarekha’s levels may dip temporarily, renewed rains could worsen the crisis, with Jamsolaghat reporting a rising trend.

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Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari ordered immediate rescue and relief operations, with Balasore deploying a 14-member fire services team and Bhadrak a nine-member rescue unit. The Water Resources Department is prepared to repair the Kani embankment once water levels recede. The state government issued flood alerts for five districts, including Mayurbhanj, as the sixth flood warning for Subarnarekha this year signals severe crop losses and displacement of thousands, per Hindustan Times and OdishaTV.

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