Floods triggered by incessant torrential post-cyclone rainfall have severely affected Ganjam and Gajapati districts of Odisha, with Aska, Dharakote, Sorada and Bhanjanagar among the worst-hit areas.
Hundreds of villages have been affected, while thousands remain marooned, prompting large-scale rescue and evacuation operations.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi along with a few other ministers will undertake an aerial survey of Ganjam and Gajapati today to assess the situation.
Akashvani correspondent reports that the Indian Coast Guard has launched helicopter rescue operations to evacuate people stranded in inaccessible Ganjam and Gajapati villages, while NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Service personnel are engaged in rescue and relief operations.
The Rushikulya river is flowing above the danger mark at several locations, inundating villages and low-lying areas. Berhampur, Aska and Bhanjanagar have also reported waterlogging.
More than one thousand villages have been badly affected by the current flood. A Central team is expected to arrive soon in Odisha to assess the damage due to Cyclone Arnab. East Coast Railway has cancelled nine trains and diverted fourteen others because railway tracks and bridges have flooded.
Educational institutions in Ganjam and Gajapati will remain closed till tomorrow, while schools and colleges in flood-hit Sundargarh district are also closed today.
The IMD has forecast thunderstorms and lightning in parts of Odisha today, with heavy rain likely at isolated places along the south Odisha coast.