Bhubaneswar, June 29 (IANS) Following incessant rainfall in the neighbouring Jharkhand and some districts in the state, the Odisha Government on Sunday directed the collector of Balasore district to remain on high alert over the potential flood conditions in the Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga, and Jalaka rivers.

The Balasore collector has also been asked to expedite the evacuation of people staying in low-lying areas of the district and start relief operations.

“Due to incessant rain in Jharkhand and in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts of Odisha, water levels in Rivers Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga and Jalaka are on the rise,” reads a statement issued by the Odisha Water Resources Department on Sunday.

The department in its statement further added that the Jalaka River has already crossed its danger level, currently flowing at 6.65 meters at Mathani, against a red mark of 6.50 meters.

However, the Subarnarekha River is currently flowing at 8.41 meters at Rajghat, approaching the danger mark of 10.36 meters.

The Budhabalanga river stands at 6.94 meters at Govindpur, below its danger level of 8.13 meters. The department also stated that peak flood is expected in Rivers Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga and Jalaka at 12 midnight, 9 a.m. on Monday and at 6 p.m. on Sunday, respectively.

“The State Flood Cell in the Department of Water Resources is functioning 24×7 and the situation is being closely monitored. Collector, Balasore has been alerted to expedite evacuation and relief operations,” added the Water Resources Department.

The government has also deputed an Engineer-in-Chief and a Chief Engineer in Balasore to oversee ground-level flood management and provide technical support.

It is worth noting that the Subarnarekha River, which flows through Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, has recently flooded large parts of Balasore district in Odisha, affecting over 50,000 people and inundating dozens of villages.

The government has deployed a team of National Disaster Response Force, three teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and five teams of fire department in the two most affected blocks — Bhograi and Baliapal- of Balasore a couple days ago.

–IANS

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