Bhubaneswar: At least 17 persons have lost their lives and as many as 14,32,701 people have been affected due to the floods in Odisha, said an official release.
“14,32,701 people in 20 districts – Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Boudh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, Nayagharh, Nuapada, Puri, Sambalpur, Subarnapur and Sundargarh – have been affected due to the flood,” said a communiqué issued by the Special Relief Commissioner’s office.
At least 3256 villages, 75 wards, 896 gram panchayats, 21 urban local bodies (ULBs) and 112 blocks have been affected due to the natural disaster. A total of 340 villages and 2,65,723 persons are still marooned. It said that 357 free kitchens have opened.
The flood situation continued to remain grim with major rivers across the State swelling on Sunday. The flood in Mahanadi River system has inundated several parts of the State while excess flood water continues to be released through 46 sluice gates of Hirakud Dam in Sambalpur.
Flood waters are being entering to villages and human habitations through 32 breaches occurred in several rivers covering five districts.
