Bhubaneswar: Seven persons including five children died when walls collapsed, and five others were injured in Odisha, as a deep atmospheric depression that crossed the coast on Friday evening brought heavy rainfall to almost all parts of the state.
The regional centre of the India Meteorological Department has issued an orange warning for Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Nuapada, Balangir and Nabarangpur districts till Sunday afternoon.
“There is fear of more rainfall in the coming days,” said special relief commissioner Pradeep Jena.
In Mayurbhanj district, a 11-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister died and their parents seriously injured after the mud wall of their house fell on them following torrential rains. The family of Anil Giri in Bholabeda village under Luhakani village council area in Bisoi block were sleeping in their asbestos-roofed home when the wall collapsed on them. Giri’s 4-year-old and 11-year-old daughters died instantly. He and his wife are undergoing treatment in a local hospital.
Also Read: 5 killed in wall collapse incidents as rain batters Odisha
A 2-year-old boy in Aruhabruti village under Bhogarai block of Balasore district died after falling in a deep pit filled with rainwater. In Rairangpur area of Mayurbhanj district, Sukumar Mohanta, a 40-year-old cook, died at the Rairangpur subdivisional hospital after the tree branch fell on him at Durga Mandap chowk in Rairangpur town.
{{/usCountry}}A 2-year-old boy in Aruhabruti village under Bhogarai block of Balasore district died after falling in a deep pit filled with rainwater. In Rairangpur area of Mayurbhanj district, Sukumar Mohanta, a 40-year-old cook, died at the Rairangpur subdivisional hospital after the tree branch fell on him at Durga Mandap chowk in Rairangpur town.
{{/usCountry}}The 4-year-old daughter of a person in Madhupura village under Baliapala block in Balasore district died after the boundary wall of a school building next to their house collapsed on his wall. The family of Sheikh Ansar were sleeping in their house when the boundary wall of the school next to their house collapsed after a tree fell on it. The boundary wall of the school fell on Ansar’s house, killing his 4-year-old daughter Samina Khatoon, and two other children. The seriously injured girl was admitted to a local hospital, where she died.
In Koraput district, a nine-year-old boy died after the wall of his bathroom collapsed at Nuasahi of PHD Colony in Koraput district following torrential rains. Priyanshu Rajbhatra was going to take bath before school when the mishap happened. An Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force team later reached the spot and recovered the remains of the boy from the debris.
In Keonjhar district, a woman was killed and her husband injured after the wall of their house collapsed. Dutika Behera of Tikarpada village under Mahadeijoda panchayat died soon after the mud wall collapsed on her while her husband Kanhu Charan Behara suffered serious injuries.
Also Read: IMD predicts heavy rain in Odisha due to depression, Puri, other areas flooded
The deep depression brought heavy to very heavy rainfall to at least 78 places in past 24 hours, with Bhograi in Balasore district and Phiringia in Kandhamal district recording 226 mm and 211 mm of rainfall till 8.30 am on Saturday, meteorological officials said. At least six places in Mayurbhanj district and four places in Kandhamal received more than 150 mm rainfall.
“Mayurbhanj and Balasore received heavy rainfall under the influence of depression. No possibility of flood in Subarnarekha, even though the river received 1.5 lakh cusecs water from Galudih Dam following heavy rain in Jharkhand,” special relief commissioner Jena said.
The rains disrupted communication in Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj districts. In Kandhamal, traffic on the Kurtamgad-Parigad road was disrupted as water flowed over it. Traffic on NH 16 was disrupted between Balasore and Baripada after rainwater flowed on the road at Balia-Nuasahi.
In view of the rainfall and flood situation, first phase of Plus 2 admission date was extended to August 30 from August 25, said school and mass education minister Samir Dash. The examination for hiring assistant section officers in the state secretariat was postponed to August 27 from the scheduled date of August 20 following floods.
The condition of flood-affected people in Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur improved slightly after water levels in the Mahanadi river ebbed, but people are facing the threat of poisonous snakes, other reptiles and scorpion attacks. A huge python was rescued after it was caught in a fishing net at Gadaharishpur village under Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur district.
At least five cases of snakebites have been reported, Jena said. ”We cannot ignore incidents like snakebites and scorpion attacks,” he said.