Red warning issued for Mayurbhanj as deep depression continues to bring heavy rain

Bhubaneswar, Sept 15: Mayurbhanj district in Odisha is expected to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated instances of extremely heavy rainfall, as the Deep Depression over Gangetic West Bengal is forecasted to maintain its intensity until the evening of September 15.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the system has been moving slowly westward at 8 kmph over the past six hours and was centered at 8:30 am approximately 60 km west of Kolkata, 110 km southeast of Bankura, 170 km east of Jamshedpur, and 270 km east-southeast of Ranchi. It is anticipated to continue its slow, westward movement across Gangetic West Bengal and remain a deep depression until the evening. It is then expected to gradually weaken into a depression and move westward across Jharkhand and North Chhattisgarh over the next 48 hours.

A red warning has been issued for Mayurbhanj, where heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20 cm) may occur. Similar conditions are anticipated in isolated areas of Keonjhar, Balasore, and Sundargarh until Monday morning. Heavy rainfall (7 to 11 cm) is also likely in isolated areas of Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Khurda, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapada, and Jharsuguda.

On September 16, heavy to very heavy rainfall may persist at isolated locations in Sundargarh and Jharsuguda, with heavy rainfall also expected in Keonjhar, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Boudh, and Angul districts.

The IMD has issued warnings of potential flash floods due to significant river water level rises and mudslides/landslides in vulnerable hilly areas over the next 24 hours. There is also a risk of waterlogging in low-lying areas, inundation of agricultural fields, damage to unmetalled roads and kutcha houses, and reduced visibility leading to traffic congestion in urban areas.