While communication to places including Kalimela, Padia, Motu, Balimela, MV-11, MV-37 and Korkanda have been cut-off, acres of farmland still remain submerged in flood water due to a 50-feet breach in Satiguda canal in Malkangiri.
Sources said National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed in different areas of districts for relief and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the incessant rains have also resulted in the rise in water level of different rivers flowing through Balasore district.
Reportedly, two gates each of Sunei Dam and Kala Dam have been opened as water level in Budhabalanga and Jalaka rivers is flowing above the danger mark.
While Budhabalanga River is currently flowing at 8.18 metres near Baruni Bridge against the danger mark of 8.13 metres, Jalaka River is flowing at 6.51 metres near Mathani as compared to the danger mark of 5.80 metres.
As per reports, around 7,000 cusec of flood water per second is being released from the Sunei Dam which has resulted in inundation of low lying areas of the district.
Many panchayats including Mathani, Baharda, Dadhahansa, Gadapaeda, Barunagadia, Chakurai, Darada of Basta block have been severely affected. Similarly, Srirampur and Rasulpur panchayats in Sadar block have been affected due to the rise is river levels.
Road communication was completely disrupted at Pejagala Chatana, which is stated to be the lifeline between Basta-Baliapala, due to the flood waters.
Meanwhile, the district administration has taken adequate steps to curb out the situation. Hundreds of people residing in low lying areas of the district have been evacuated to safer places, informed Balasore district collector.
On the other hand, Baitarani River has also crossed the danger mark (17.83m) at Akhuapada in Bhadrak with the current water level at 18.02 metres.
Five blocks of the district along with 13 panchayats of Kalimela, Korkonda, Padia, Malkangiri and Chitrakonda blocks have been severely affected due to the incessant rain.
Besides, as many as 412 houses have been reportedly damaged in the above mentioned blocks affecting more than 5000 people.
Similarly, around 1.4 lakh people of 168 villages in Balasore district have been affected due to the rain which also reportedly damaged 72 houses.
Five blocks of Mayurbhanj district including Badasahi, Udala, G P Nagar, Khunta and Kaptipada have been hit due to the rain. As many as 38 villages of 22 blocks of the district have been affected.
Meanwhile, teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have also been deployed in different areas of these districts for relief and rescue operations.
On the other hand, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi has asked the concerned districts administrations to assess the damage and submit a report within 15 days.
Keeping in view the forecast of India Meteorological Department (IMD) that the deep depression over Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm, alert was issued to administrative officials of several coastal districts including Puri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Nayagarh, Puri and Khurda.
“Apart from alerting district administrations, we had deployed ODRAF, NDRF teams in Puri and Ganjam and people from various vulnerable pockets were evacuated to safer places,” said Sethi.
Sethi further informed that normal life in over 33 blocks in Odisha was however disrupted following incessant rain triggered by the cyclone. Malkangiri district received over 400 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours.
Road communication in several parts of Malkangiri district has been affected including at Poteru and Karkunda and other parts while water level of several rivers in the district including Chitrakonda dam continues on a rising trend.
“Cyclone Daye has weakened. The deep depression is positioned near Titlagarh as per updates at 5.30 am. It's moving towards west, north-west,” informed Director of Bhubaneswar Regional Meterological Centre, HR Biswas.
Biswas further informed that several parts of Odisha will experience heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours.
The conditions then further hint at the Monsoon withdrawing from Odisha by the end of October.
Significantly, when the State is all set to witness heavy rainfall on September 2-3 owing to a likely depression system over north Bay of Bengal, weather models by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) further show development of another low pressure area over north Bay of Bengal on and around September 7.
Even, the US-based Climate Prediction Centre (CPC) has made forecasts that show Odisha will be experiencing precipitation amounting to over 50 mm (5cm) in the week ending on September 13 (as shown in the figure).
As per the Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the withdrawal of monsoon in 2019 is expected in the third week of October only. And the reason behind delayed withdrawal is attributed to very high temperature on the periphery of monsoon in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"It takes longer time when the whole continent cools down to the temperature of monsoon withdrawal," said its lead researcher Elena Surovyatkina.
It needs worth mentioning that last year just before days of Monsoon withdrawal, the active Bay of Bengal had spun a severe cyclonic storm Titli.
Notably, last year the month of September had witnessed more phenomenon of low pressure areas (lopar), and one such lopar had developed to cyclone Daye that crossed the Odisha coast on and around 21 September.
It has been observed that the atmosphere gets more unstable during the last leg of Monsoon and the vertical wind shear gets stronger. These two conditions have the ability to turn a lopar into cyclone.
Meanwhile, the IMD has predicted moderate thunderstorms for today in only three districts of Koraput, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi.
The weather models of the Met forecasting agencies like IMD, INCOIS and US-based Climate Prediction Centre (CPC) predict formation of a Low Pressure Area (LOPAR) over the northwest Bay of Bengal by early next week (16th September). For this system, the State will record above normal rainfall till Tuesday next.
Though the relative vorticity (spinning of air) around the system is predicted high, it is too early to predict the system developing into a depression. However, since mid September tends to have an unstable atmospheric condition, met watchers are keeping a close watch on the developing system.
Significantly, last year a depression was formed on September 19 and went on to develop into a severe cyclonic storm Daye that made landfall in south Odisha on September 21.
As per the US-based CPC prediction, almost all the south interior and coastal districts, in the State will be witnessing very heavy rainfall in the range of 70-80 mm in the week ending on September 22. However, the rest of the State will experience rainfall in the range of 20-40 mm.
However, the rainfall data till today with the IMD reveals the State has received around 1,057 mm rainfall, which is 5 per cent more than the average normal rainfall recorded during the period of June-September 9 over the years. It is only two districts, Balasore and Deogarh, that have recorded deficient rainfall during this monsoon till date. The deficit in Balasore has increased in September.
In contrast, the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Jharsuguda and Puri have recorded excess rainfall to the extent of 44 - 21 per cent.