Red alert in parts of Odisha due to possible formation of depression

Bhubaneswar: A fresh spell of torrential rain over the next two days, owing to with the formation of a new low pressure area on Thursday, may exacerbate the flood situation in Odisha.

The weather system, third in two weeks, took shape over the northeast Bay of Bengal in the morning and is set to concentrate into a well-marked low pressure, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.

It is expected to intensify into a depression over the northern Bay on Friday morning and move northwestwards across the Gangetic West Bengal, north Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, according to a bulletin.

The Met office asked fisherfolk who are in deep sea to return to the coast by Thursday.

They have been advised not to venture off the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal for the next two days as the sea can be very rough. Squally weather with wind speed of 45-65 kmph is expected over the northern Bay.

The weatherman issued a red alert of extremely heavy rain in parts of Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj on Friday. This may lead to water level rise in rivers, flash floods, landslides or mudslides in vulnerable hilly areas and cause damage to susceptible roads and houses.

It put out an orange alert of downpour at a few places in 14 districts, including Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Sambalpur. A yellow warning of heavy rain has been issues for seven districts, including Khurda and Puri.

The department predicted pouring rain in eight districts and heavy showers in seven on Saturday.

Over 4.67 lakh people in 12 districts have already been affected by the flood in the Mahanadi river system due to incessant rain since last week due to low pressure and depression.