Death toll due to floods in Odisha climbed to 45 and number of people affected by the deluge to over 32.9 lakh today as the situation improved gradually with receding water level in many areas.
Water level in almost all rivers including Mahanadi dropped considerably amid signs of improvement in the flood situation in different areas, Deputy Relief Commissioner Prabhat Ranjan Mohapatra said.
However, more than 4.8 lakh people in over 460 villages were still left marooned in the delta region of Mahanadi river system, while many areas were still submerged by flood water of Baitarani river, he said.
Different parts of the state, mainly northern region, were lashed by rain under the influence of a low perssure but the intensity was low and the weather is unlikely to aggravate the flood scenario, said a senior official in the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC).
Rain and thundershower would occur at many places over Odisha during next 24 hours and heavy rainfall was expected at one or two places in interior parts, the meteorological centre here said.
The number of people affected by the flood mounted to over 32.9 lakh from around 28.58 lakh estimated yesterday, the SRC office said, adding, the number of flood-hit villages also climbed up to 5,313 located in 134 blocks in 1,381 gram panchayats spread over 23 districts.
The death toll in floods and heavy rains in different parts of the state climbed to 45, eight more from yesterday's 37, SRC office said.
The highest number of casualties occured in Bargarh district, followed by Mayurbhanj district. Flood deaths were also reported in Bhadrak and Sambalpur, it said, adding, deaths were mainly caused by drowning in swirling waters and wall collapse.
