Bhubaneswar: Odisha may bear the brunt of another possible low-pressure system over the weekend, the Met office said on Thursday, even as the state continues to grapple with the losses and difficulties caused by torrential rain over the past few days due to depression. Heavy rain has battered several districts due to an intensified weather system, which crossed the state on Tuesday and now lay weakened over Madhya Pradesh. It led to the flooding of many villages and low-lying areas, disrupting road connectivity as some bridges over swollen rivers collapsed.
Four coastal districts recorded heavy to very heavy rain due to the monsoon trough and a cyclonic circulation in the western parts of Gangetic West Bengal, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.
Jajpur received 150 mm of rain over a 24-period till 8.30 am. Downpour pounded Mayurbhanj as Sukruli recorded 89 mm of rain and district headquarters Baripada received 69 mm, according to a bulletin.
Khaira in Balasore was battered by 79 mm of precipitation, followed by 78 mm at Ghasipura in Keonjhar. There was moderate rainfall in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and several other districts.
Ten gates of Hirakud dam in Sambalpur district of western Odisha were opened to discharge excess water following incessant rain in the upper catchment areas of the Mahanadi river.
Dam authorities had closed the sluice gates on July 31 after releasing the first flood water of the year on July 18.
At 3 pm, the water level was 612.93 feet and the outflow of water from the dam was 1.92 lac cusecs, of which 1.51 lac cusecs was released through the 10 sluice gates.
"All 66 gates of Kalma barrage in Chhattisgarh have also been opened now," Upper Mahanadi chief engineer Ananda Chandra Sahu said. Hirakud, which has 98 gates, received 46.4 mm of rain between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, the Met office said.
"We're closely monitoring the situation. A meeting will be convened and a decision will be taken on opening more gates," the official said.
According to the Met office, the new low-pressure area may form over the northern Bay of Bengal around Saturday. The system can become more marked during the subsequent 24 hours and move west-northwestwards.
It warned of downpour in Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Angul, Dhenkanal and Bargarh on Friday.
The weatherman put out an orange alert of very heavy rain in many districts, including Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Rayagada, on Saturday and Sunday.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the deep-sea area of northwest Bay of Bengal till Friday and off the coast from Saturday-Monday.
