Bhubaneswar receives heavy rainfall, alert sounded in Odisha

In an advisory, special relief commissioner (Odisha) Satyabrata Sahu asked district collectors, municipal corporations, and other top officials to remain alert

Updated on: Aug 2, 2023, 08:40:15 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar received 259.2mm of rainfall over 24 hours from Monday and Tuesday morning, disrupting traffic and flooding parts of the city. Rainwater gushed into the 11th-century Lingaraj Temple, partially submerging the linga. The water level rose on major roads and made it difficult for people to drive.

The highest single-day rainfall in Bhubaneswar was recorded on October 30, 1999. (HT PHOTO)

In an advisory, special relief commissioner Satyabrata Sahu asked district collectors, municipal corporations, and other top officials to remain alert. He said a low-pressure area over the northeast Bay of Bengal on Tuesday has intensified into a deep depression and heavy to very heavy rainfall was expected on Wednesday in the districts such as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, and Balasore.

The highest single-day rainfall in Bhubaneswar was recorded on October 30, 1999, when a supercyclone ravaged the city and brought 426.4 mm of rain.

Siksha O Anusandhan (Deemed to be University)’s Centre for Climate and Environment director Sarat Chandra Sahu said there was not much rainfall or thunderstorm over the past few months. He added latent heat stored in the atmosphere could have triggered heavy rainfall when favourable conditions prevailed. “Rains like these are hard to predict. Most of the cities in India would not be able to handle so much water.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More