Odisha floods: Saturday's toll of evacuees was over 70,000; a later report said more than 75,000

On Saturday the Odisha government evacuated over 70,000 people from low-lying areas into 395 relief camps as rivers rose, officials said, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. Two New Indian Express reports published on 28 September describe Sunday. The evacuation figures are kept in that order and are not merged.

BusinessLine said flash floods and waterlogging were reported in 13 districts: Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Keonjhar, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Bolangir and Jagatsinghpur. Balasore was among the worst hit, with three major rivers above danger level. The Subarnarekha was at 11.07 metres at Jaleswar's Rajghat at 5 pm, against a danger level of 10.36 metres, flooding villages in Bhograi, Jaleswar, Baliapal and Basta, officials said. The Budhabalang was at 8.8 metres over NH-16 at Govindpur at 3 pm, above the danger level. The Kansabansa, Soa and Gangahar were also in spate in Balasore.

In Mayurbhanj, Similipal authorities closed Devkund after streams rose and an official said bridges on the road in were damaged or washed away. Budhabalang water entered parts of Baripada and six blocks, including Badasahi, Udala and Rasagobindapur.

Revenue minister Suresh Pujari said 11 more Hirakud gates were opened on Saturday because of rain in the Mahanadi catchment in Chhattisgarh. A senior official put the reservoir at 629.56 feet, against 630 feet full, and said floodplain residents should stay alert. The minister said 33 ODRAF teams, three NDRF teams and about 300 fire teams were deployed. In Jajpur the Kani flooded two Dasarathpur panchayats. In Kalahandi five gates of the Indravati project on the Hati were releasing 550 cusecs. In Koraput five Kotpad panchayats were inundated and over 100 houses were damaged. BusinessLine said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi would survey south Odisha by air on Sunday morning.

The New Indian Express said he made that survey and reviewed relief at Jeypore with Pujari. He visited Pinjili and Chandili in Kotpad and the camp at Chandili high school, and checked food, water, baby food and medicines. The paper quoted him: "The government stands with every flood-affected person. After assessment of the damage, necessary assistance will be provided as per prescribed norms." The review covered Indravati flooding in Koraput and Nabarangpur, and the Saberi in Malkangiri. Pujari said camp families would get food, clothing and essentials for 15 days. A technical team was to drain fields.

That Sunday report said two more Hirakud gates were opened, with water going out through 24 gates, and the level at 628.29 feet against 630. Chief engineer Dilip Kumar Rout said 7 lakh cusecs would reach Mundali near Cuttack late on Sunday night and 8 lakh cusecs by Monday morning, a small flood in low-lying parts of Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur and parts of Kendrapara. The Special Relief Commissioner's office, in the same report, said more than 75,000 people had been evacuated in the same 13 districts, and official sources said 395 relief centres were open. That later statewide figure does not replace Saturday's "over 70,000."

A second New Indian Express report gave Sunday figures for Balasore and Bhadrak. They are not added here to either statewide total. The Subarnarekha was then at 11.20 metres at Rajghat, against 10.36, and the Jalaka at 6.62 metres at Mathani in Basta, against 6.50. Jharkhand had opened 13 gates at Galudih barrage, it said. Collector Suryawanshi Mayur Vikas said 11 blocks, 126 panchayats and 730 villages were affected, about 3,57,466 people were affected, and 67,266 had been evacuated, with four ODRAF teams, two NDRF teams and 12 fire teams deployed, plus six medical and 17 veterinary teams. In Bhadrak, over 1.84 lakh people in six blocks and two urban bodies were affected, 52,851 had been evacuated, 66 free kitchens were open, and one ODRAF team was in Bhandaripokhari, with 18 medical teams, six veterinary teams and two mobile water units.

What's next

Camp supplies, field drainage and Rout's Mahanadi estimate were still open.