Two depressions over the Bay of Bengal within a fortnight have resulted
in continuous heavy rainfall for more than a week in the state of
Orissa and adjoining areas of West Bengal, Jharkhand, and North Chatisgarh.
This has resulted in all major rivers - Mahandi, Indravati and Brahmani
and their tributaries rising above danger levels at many points and
inundating vast areas of land and affecting families living near the
flooded rivers.
There is a serious flood threat in the state – the districts so far
affected are Kalahandi, Rayagada, Gajapati, Balangir, Sonepur, Baragarh,
Koraput, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghapur, Ganjam, Angul, and Puri.
The situation has been exacerbated by the opening of sluice gates
in dams and barrages to release the excess water – the opening of
gates in the Indravati and Hirakud reservoirs resulted in the flooding
of several surrounding villages.
ACT members Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), the
Lutheran World Service India (LWS-India) and the United
Evangelical Church in India (UELCI) are on high alert and monitoring
the situation.
UELCI has sent four assessment teams to visit the areas affected,
meet with local authorities and distribute immediate relief in the
form of packages of dry food using resources available from other
appeals. They are planning to respond in the areas of Jagatsinghpur,
Nayagarh, Dhenkenal and Koraput with the support of the ACT Alliance.
LWS has also been monitoring the situation and field staff and the
community are on full alert in the areas where they are working: Jagatsinghpur,
Kendrapara, Jaipur, Puri in the coastal area and Balangir, Kalahandi
and Sonepur in the north-west. LWS is in contact with the State Relief
Commissioner and local authorities who report that the continuous
rain has stopped and the flood water level is slowly receding in north-west
Orissa. The government has taken measures to provide dry foods to
the marooned people. Should the situation change for the worse, LWS-I
teams will move into action and a request for support will be presented
to the ACT Alliance.
CASA reports that the staff and disaster mitigation task forces in
the districts of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Khurda are
on high alert to monitor and respond to the situation as it develops.
People living in one of the more remote areas, fearing a rapid high
level flooding, have already moved into two of CASA’s multi purpose
shelters. The Orissa Mitigation Authority have sought CASA’s assistance
in responding to the flooding and CASA is prepared to meet the food,
shelter and clothing needs of 5,000 families. Should the situation
worsen they will request support from the ACT Alliance.
