Several areas in Odisha likely to experience heavy rainfall: MeT

With a fresh low pressure area likely to form over Bay of Bengal and trigger heavy rainfall in parts of Odisha, the state asked district officials to prepare to deal with any flood-like situations

With a fresh low pressure

area likely to form over Bay of Bengal around Sunday and trigger heavy rainfall in many parts of Odisha, the state government on Friday asked district administrations to remain prepared to deal with any flood like situation and landslide.

A low pressure area is likely to develop over northeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood around September 20, the Meteorological Centre here said in a bulletin.

Under its influence, several parts of Odisha are likely to experience enhanced rainfall till September 23, it said, adding that heavy to very heavy downpour may lash some areas during the period.

Squally weather coupled with surface wind with speed reaching 45-55 kmph is likely to prevail over north-east Bay of Bengal and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal.

The MeT Centre advised fishermen not to venture into deep sea areas along and off Odisha coast from September 20 and said those in deep sea are advised to return to the coast by Sunday.

In view of the weather forecast, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), P K Jena issued an advisory to the district collectors asking them to remain prepared to deal with any flood like situation and landslide in hilly areas.

Asking the district collectors to closely monitor the situation, the SRC said continuous vigil must be maintained on low-lying areas and steps for dewatering should be taken wherever required. Advice for fishermen should be strictly implemented.

While many parts of the state are likely to experience rainfall of varying intensity till September 23 due to the low pressure area, heavy rainfall may occur at some places in the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada on Saturday.

On Sunday, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to lash some places of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Kendrapada districts where the MeT Centre has issued an Orange Warning. Heavy downpour may cause waterlogging in low-lying areas and damage to kutcha houses and informal roads during the period, it said.

Heavy rainfall may also occur at isolated places in Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Deogarh, Sambalpur and Cuttack districts on Sunday.

An 'Orange' warning stands for alert, and authorities are expected to be prepared to deal with the impact of heavy to very heavy rainfall.

The MeT Centre also issued an Orange warning for Monday in Jharsuguda, Sundergarh, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Keonjhar, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Sonepur and Angul districts where some places are likely to be lashed by heavy to very heavy rainfall during the period.

Similarly, heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places over the districts of Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sundergarh and Nabarangpur on Tuesday, it said.

This will be the seventh low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal since the beginning of August. Five back-to-back low pressure systems developed on August 4, 9, 13, 19 and 24 had triggered heavy to very heavy rainfall in many parts of the state and created flood situations in several areas last month.

Similarly, a low pressure area had formed over west- central Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh coast on September 13, triggering widespread rainfall in several areas in south Odisha, sources said.