Odisha on Saturday braced for another spell of heavy rain as a fresh low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal was in forecast, prompting the state government to step up preparedness in flood-affected districts.
The IMD said the low-pressure area is likely to form over the north Bay of Bengal, off the West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts, on Sunday.
Under its influence, Odisha is likely to receive isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall, including in several districts already affected by floods.
"The upper air cyclonic circulation over central Myanmar and the neighbourhood now lies over the north Bay of Bengal off the West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts. Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the same region during the next 24 hours," the weather agency said.
Odisha steps up flood preparedness
Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Rajesh P Patil asked all districts to remain fully alert and prepared to deal with any eventuality.
"The SRC Office along with the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) is maintaining round-the-clock monitoring of the situation in coordination with all District Emergency Operation Centres (DEOCs) across the state," Patil said.
He said the flood situation was under control as water levels in all major rivers had receded and were flowing well below the danger mark.
However, floodwater continued to affect 703 villages in four districts -- Balasore, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Jajpur.
"The immediate priorities are to give access to cut-off habitations, supply of cooked food and safe drinking water," Patil said.
14 lakh people affected across seven districts
The latest spell of flooding has affected around 14 lakh people in seven districts: Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundergarh, officials said.
The state government has intensified relief, rescue and restoration operations, deploying 86 teams comprising 32 ODRAF, eight NDRF and 46 Fire and Emergency Services teams.
It has also released Rs 167.55 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) in three phases for relief camps, rescue operations and other flood-related measures.
Heavy rain forecast till August 29
Rajashree, a scientist at the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, said the fresh low-pressure area was likely to trigger heavy to very heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms in different parts of Odisha till the morning of August 29.
The IMD has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea from August 22 to 24.
An engineer of the Water Resources Department said heavy rain in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar on August 22 and 23 could trigger fresh flooding in the Jalaka and Budhabalanga rivers and inundate some areas of Balasore and Mayurbhanj.
Schools shut in Jajpur, Bhadrak
The district administrations of Jajpur and Bhadrak closed schools and Anganwadi centres on Saturday in view of the weather conditions.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the Health Department was taking extensive measures to prevent any epidemic or outbreak of disease in the flood-affected areas following the deluge.