By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 30, 2020: Floods in Odisha have so far claimed 17 lives and the situation has further worsened on Sunday as several districts were inundated by floodwater from Mahanadi River System.

More than 14.32 lakh in 20 districts have been affected by the calamity, according to the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC).

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will do an aerial survey of the flood-hit districts on Monday.

“The flood is at its peak with over 10 lakh cusec water came in Mahanadi at Mundali on Sunday. It will would inundate Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Puri, Khurda and Jajpur districts by Monday. The inflow to Hirakud reservoir has reduced, so water levels will not rise further, but the current water levels will take two more days to recede,” said SRC P K Jena.

Some 14 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 17 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 22 teams of fire brigade have been continuously working to rescue the affected people and provide relief services, including distribution of cooked and dry food in the marooned villages.

As many as 10,382 houses were fully or partially damaged in 3,256 villages under 896 panchayats in 112 blocks while 2,65,723 people were affected due to the calamity in 340 villages on Sunday, official sources said.

The water level at the reservoir stood at 627.97 feet against its full capacity of 630 feet. Around 7.65 lakh cusec water per second is being released from the reservoir through 43 sluice gates while 6.88 lakh cusec water came in the reservoir on Sunday.

Following the release of flood waters in Mahanadi river, the river and several of its tributaries like Devi, Daya, Paika, Rajua, Luna, Chitrotpala are flowing above the danger mark.

The worst affected districts are Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur and Kendapada. However, the flood situation in other major rivers is improving as their water levels are receding gradually.