Heavy rain triggered by low pressure in the Bay of Bengal led to a landslide on Sunday night that partially blocked a national highway in Odisha’s Keonjhar district.
Incessant rainfall also inundated homes, submerged roads, and disrupted transport in the southern districts of Nabarangpur and Malkangiri, officials said.
“The administration is taking precautionary measures in all affected areas. Waterlogging outside schools and along sections of the national highway in Malkangiri town disrupted daily life as drains overflowed. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for six districts on Monday and forecast heavy rain until August 29. IMD officials said another low-pressure area could form over the Bay of Bengal between August 31 and September 1, potentially triggering another spell of intense rainfall. In Malkangiri district, low-lying areas were inundated after the district recorded 315.8mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. Officials said further rainfall could submerge low-level bridges and roads in remote areas such as Poteru, Kangurakonda, MV-37, and Korukonda. Till Monday, Odisha received 1078mm of rainfall, 29 % excess of what it normally receives in monsoon.
Since rainfall intensity is decreasing, the situation is expected to normalise by evening,” Nabarangpur Collector Maheswar Swain said on Monday.
