Heavy rain likely to continue in Odisha; orange alert for Sundargarh, yellow warning for other districts

Odisha continues to reel under the impact of a deep depression that crossed the coast near Gopalpur, close to the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border, late Thursday night. Moving in a north-northwest direction, the system has brought widespread rainfall to several parts of the state, particularly in the coastal and southern districts.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, the depression has already triggered heavy to very heavy showers since yesterday, with some areas recording extremely heavy rainfall. Officials, however, said that the intensity of rain is expected to gradually reduce from today as the system weakens further.

An Orange Alert has been issued for Sundargarh district, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, while a Yellow Alert has been issued for most other districts across Odisha. The authorities have urged residents to remain alert and take precautionary measures.

Throughout Thursday night, several areas of the state experienced torrential downpours, accompanied by gusty winds blowing at speeds of 50 to 60 kmph. The strong winds caused trees to be uprooted in many places, leading to the disruption of traffic and power supply in some localities.

Disaster management teams, along with district administrations, have been put on standby to deal with any emergency. Residents in and riverbank areas have been advised to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary travel.

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While the intensity is likely to decline from today, officials warn that sporadic heavy showers may still persist in parts of northern and western Odisha over the next 24 hours.