Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 4:
A low pressure area formed over the northwest Bay of Bengal off north Odisha-West Bengal triggered heavy rainfall in most parts of Odisha.
In the next 24 hours, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of interior Odisha and heavy rainfall likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of coastal Odisha, the local Meteorological Centre predicted.
A rainfall of 240 mm was recorded in Sambalpur, 169.6 mm in Hirakud, 111.6 mm in Angul, 110 mm in Talcher, 108 mm in Marshaghai, 53.8 mm in Cuttack and 44 mm in Bhubaneswar in the past 24 hours, sources said.
"The rainfall will continue till August 6. If the low pressure moves towards land mass, then the rainfall would reduce. If the low pressure stays stable, it would trigger heavy rainfall in the lower catchments of Mahanadi, Rushikulya and Brahmani which might lead to floods," said Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Director Sarat Chandra Sahu.
Heavy rainfall lashed Odisha capital as a result of which the low-lying areas of Bhubaneswar were inundated, reports said, adding that water entered into many houses making it difficult for the denizens to stay indoors.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Sambalpur as Nuapada Basti, Housing Board Colony, Modipada, Jagannath Colony, Khetrajpur and many other areas were inundated with water.
The Kankarkonda and MV 90 bridges in Malkangiri submerged under water today due to incessant rainfall in the district since yesterday. Several vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the bridges, reports said.