TV
Top officials in Odisha confirmed that there is no flood threat to the Hirakud reservoir, despite active monsoon conditions in the region.
Sources cited water resources engineer Sagar Mohanty, who stated that current discharge patterns and rainfall data suggest that key river systems, including Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga, and Jalaka, are flowing below danger levels, offering temporary relief amid widespread rainfall.
According to the Water Resources Department, a cyclonic system over Jharkhand is expected to influence rainfall patterns over the upper basins of the Mahanadi and Baitarani rivers.
However, engineers have ruled out the possibility of severe flooding at this stage. The expected rainfall is moderate, and no extreme weather events such as cloudbursts have been observed or predicted.
“Hirakud reservoir is presently at only 19% capacity, and there lies ample space for storage of excessive water. Other river systems, too, are flowing below the danger mark, and there lies no foreseeable flood threat to the region,” said Mohanty in an interaction with the press.
Officials also clarified that flood risk would only arise if intense rainfall occurs simultaneously in both the upper and lower catchments of major river systems.
As per current data, 60 mm rainfall was recorded in the Mahanadi basin, and 30 mm in the Brahmani, figures which remain well within safe limits for this time of year.
On the Subarnarekha front, six gates of the Chandil dam in Jharkhand have been opened to allow safe discharge of excess water. Still, the flow is controlled and not considered hazardous.
Engineers confirmed that rainfall levels in upper basins have not breached critical thresholds, and that village-level inundation is primarily due to off-season rainfall accumulation, not sudden flooding.
Localised Flooding Persists Despite River Recession
While statewide flood alerts may have eased, distress continues in the Bhograi block of Balasore district, where 15 panchayats and over 30 villages remain marooned due to lingering waterlogging from earlier rainfall.
As per official reports, the Subarnarekha River, which had earlier crossed the danger mark of 10.36 metres at Rajghat, has now receded to 9.17 metres as of 6 am, Thursday. Despite this decline, areas like Kusuda, Gabaga, and Manunagar remain cut off, with roads submerged under four feet of water, as of the last reports.
