Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 30, 2015 : Floods in Baitarani and Subarnarekha rivers have affected at least four lakh people in five districts of Odisha. What is worse is that heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours under the influence of a cyclonic storm “Komen” will further worsen the situation.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) GVV Sharma on Thursday said that about four lakh people of Jajpur, Baleswar, Bhadrak, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts have been affected by the heavy flood in Baitarani and Subarnarekha rivers.

He said while four blocks in Baleswar, two in Bhadrak and three in Jajpur districts have been affected, there are three breaches in river embankments in Jajpur and one in Baleswar district.

“We have deployed one National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team and five Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams in these five districts and engaged 90 boats in the relief and rescue operations,” Sharma said.

Moost parts of coastal Odisha will have heavy rains duen to the deep depression over northeast Bay of Bengal intensifying into a cyclonic storm called “komen”, according to the local Met office.

“The Deep Depression over Northeast Bay of Bengal, which moved northwestwards during the last nine hours, has intensified into a cyclonic storm “Komen” and lay centred at about 300 km in the east-southeast of Kolkata at 10 AM today. The system would move north-northwestwards and cross Bangladesh coast by afternoon today. The cyclonic storm, after its landfall, would move west-northwestwards and weaken gradually. Under its influence, rain or thundershower would occur at many places over Odisha with heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places over coastal Odisha and adjoining Mayurbhanj district during the next 24 hours,” a Met Office release said.