Odisha flood situation: Govt says next 24 hours crucial

Bhubaneswar: As several rivers are in spate following heavy rain in last couple of days, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena on Wednesday said the next 24 hours will be crucial for Odisha which is now experiencing a flood situation.

Jena said the flood situation may continue for the next four days.

“The state is witnessing floods in several districts simultaneously after 2011,” Jena said.

Meanwhile, the floodwater is receding on Mahanadi river and the outflow at Mundali barrage at 9 am today was 11.77 lakh cusec, informed Water Resources Engineer-in-Chief Bijay Kumar Mishra on Wednesday.

The reservoir level of Hirakud Dam was 626.47 ft. The inflow was 6.24 lakh cusecs while the outflow was 6.81 lakh cusecs. The peak water flow at Khairmal was 9.84 lakh cusec. It will take 12 hours to reach Barmul and another 12 hours to reach Mundali.