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5 killed in wall collapse incidents as rain batters Odisha
The deep depression that crossed the Odisha coast on Friday evening brought heavy rainfall to almost all parts of the state
Five persons including four children died and five others were injured in wall collapse incidents as the deep depression that crossed the Odisha coast on Friday evening brought heavy rainfall to almost all parts of the state, officials said on Saturday.
In Mayurbhanj district, a 11-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister died and their parents were seriously injured after the mud wall of their house fell on them following torrential rains. Officials said the family of Anil Giri in Bholabeda village under Luhakani grampanchayat in Bisoi block were sleeping in their asbestos-roofed house when the wall collapsed on them. Giri’s daugthers instantly died while he and his wife are undergoing treatment in a local hospital.
Similarly, 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 their house after a tree fell on it. The family of Sheikh Ansar was sleeping in their house when the wall collapsed on his three children. Ansar’s daughter Samina Khatoon, who was seriously injured, 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 on him at Nuasahi of PHD Colony in Koraput district following torrential rains. The boy was going to take bath before proceeding to school when the mishap happened.
In Keonjhar district, a woman was killed and her husband injured after the wall of their house collapsed on them. Dutika Behera of Tikarpada village under Mahadeijoda panchayat died soon after the mudwall collapsed on her while her husband Kanhu Charan Behara suffered serious injuries.
Meteorological department officials said the deep depression brought heavy to very heavy rainfall to at least 88 places in the last 24 hours with Bhograi in Balasore district and Phiringia in Kandhamal district recording 226 mm and 211 mm of rainfall till 8.30am on Saturday. At least 6 places in Mayurbhanj district and 4 places in Kandhamal received more than 150 mm rainfall.
The rainfall disrupted communication in Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj districts. In Kandhamal, traffic on the Kurtamgad-Parigad road was disrupted as water gushed over it. In Mayurbhanj, the Bangriposi–Bhubaneswar Superfast Express train had to be stopped after a tree fell on the electric line at Baripada station.
Traffic on NH 16 was disrupted between Balasore and Baripada after rainwater flowed on the road at Balia-Nuasahi.
Meanwhile, the regional centre of India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued orange warning for Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Nuapada, Balangir and Nabarangpur districts till afternoon.
The condition of flood-affected people in Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur improved slightly after water level in Mahanadi 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.
Five cases of snakebites have been reported, special relief commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said. “There is fear of more rainfall in the coming days due to the deep depression. We cannot ignore incidents like snakebites and scorpion attacks,” said the SRC.
