High flood situation warning in Odisha's Keonjhar district

With Baitarani River in Odisha's Keonjhar district flowing above the danger mark, the Ministry of Water Resources today issued a "high flood situation" warning.

"River Baitarani at Anandapur in Keonjhar district of Odisha is now flowing in High Flood Situation. At 6 AM today, it was flowing at a level of 41.04 meters with a rising trend.

"This is 2.68 mtrs above its danger level of 38.36 meters and 0.31 meters below its previous HFL of 41.35 meters recorded on September 23,2011," a statement from Ministry of Water Resources said.

Torrential rains have claimed three lives and posed flood threat in Odisha.

The state government had yesterday alerted 12 districts to gear up for any eventuality as heavy downpour is likely to pound some areas due to a deep depression.

Collectors of 12 districts have been asked to remain watchful and take all steps to deal with possible flood.

An alert was sounded in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Cuttack, Boudh, Nayagarh and Keonjhar districts.

Eight NDRF teams have been sent to Keonjhar, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Puri districts to assist in rescue and relief work.