Three Dead, Nearly Two Lakh Evacuated as Odisha Faces Worsening Flood Crisis

Odisha's monsoon flood crisis worsened on Wednesday, with at least three people, including a Fire Services personnel, killed and more than five lakh people affected across several districts. Authorities also warned of a possible medium flood in the Mahanadi river system after heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Officials said 1,88,002 people have been evacuated and accommodated in 396 relief centres, while over 1,000 houses have been damaged in the worst-hit districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar. Schools, cyclone shelters and anganwadi centres are being used to house displaced families.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed three ministers to supervise relief operations, while senior IAS officers have been deployed to oversee flood management. The state government has also cancelled leave for officials in affected districts to ensure swift emergency response.

According to the Water Resources Department, water levels at the Hirakud reservoir are rising, with discharge expected to increase if inflows continue. Officials estimate water flow at Mundali near Cuttack could reach 9 lakh cusecs by Thursday evening, a level classified as a medium flood that may inundate parts of the Mahanadi delta. A major flood, however, has been ruled out for now.

Among the deceased was Fire Services personnel Chandan Pattnaik, who died of electrocution while pumping out water from a waterlogged area. Rescue teams from the NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Services have rescued 212 people over the past 24 hours as several rivers continue to flow above the danger mark.

The unfolding disaster once again underscores Odisha's recurring flood crisis and the need for integrated river basin management, stronger interstate coordination on reservoir operations, real-time hydrological data sharing and climate-resilient disaster planning to reduce the impact of increasingly frequent extreme weather events.