Flood alert in 6 Orissa districts

Orissa alerts officials as water level in one of the rivers rise alarmingly.

Fearing a fifth strike by floods, Orissa Wednesday alerted administrative officials of six districts as the water level in one of the state's major rivers rose alarmingly following heavy rain.

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The state, already struggling to recover from the four rounds of floods in the past two months, has alerted the officials of the Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapda, Cuttack, Puri, Khordha and Nayagarh, officer on special duty in state revenue control room GH Swain said.

They have been asked to be ready to carry our relief and restoration work in case the floods recur, he said.

The water level in Mahanadi river is rising at many places and has already neared the danger mark at Naraj in Cuttack, the official added.

While the danger level at Naraj is 26.42 metres, it was flowing at 25.87 metres at about 3 p.m., he said.

In case the water level increases, many low-lying areas would face a deluge, the official said.

The meteorological office here has predicted thundershowers in the next 24 hours, he said.

Floods have already claimed the lives of more than 85 people in the past two months submerging large areas of agricultural land and damaging government and private properties in 27 of the state's 30 districts.