Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar received 259.2mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours breaking a 26-year-old record, informed the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday.
As per the records, Bhubaneswar was subjected to a similar kind of heavy rainfall back in 1997 when 254.2mm of rain poured down on the city on August 20.
After a few hours of downpour on Monday, normal life was thrown out of gear, and traffic on different stretches came to a halt in the Smart City.
Thousands of residents of VIP Colony, Forest Park New Forest Colony and Soubhagya Nagar areas were seen grappling with massive waterlogging even on Tuesday. Knee-deep water was seen on roads as well as inside houses. Some residents were seen venting their ire at the government and civic body authorities.
But this is not all. There is more rain to come. The IMD has issued a ‘red warning’ for heavy to very heavy rainfall in several parts of Odisha in the next 48 hours.
In its advisory, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) of Odisha has asked district Collectors, Municipal Corporations, and other officials to remain alert, especially in the districts where Red, Orange, or Yellow warnings have been issued by the IMD.
Special instructions have been issued to the officials to ensure that field-level functionaries in strategic locations where flash flood and waterlogging is a possibility, remain on alert and do not leave the headquarters.