August 17
People in several districts of Odisha have experienced extreme hardship due to the destructive flood in the Mahanadi basin, and the situation is unlikely to improve in the next 24 hours.
Briefing to Media, Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha Pradip Kumar Jena said, ‘The next 24 hours are crucial in the battle against the disaster, which has been dubbed the greatest flood in the state in 11 years.
Only 4 locations have experienced significant breaches due to flooding, including 2 occurrences today. The first one was near the Kushabhadra River embankment in Tendiakuda, and the second was close to Teramanapur on the Mahanadi River. According to the SRC, other river breaches are backwaters rather than real breaches.
A huge volume of water is entering the Mahanadi River in Mundali, which has not happened since 2011. The good news is that the water level in Mundali has begun receding.
Water flow reducing at Mundali by 17000 cusecs per hour and will further come down by 25000 cusecs in a few hours from now. Water flow is expected to come down to 9 lakh cusec at Mundali in 24 hours, explained the official.
On the other hand, water from Hirakud dam has crossed Khairamal where the flow touched the peak of 9.84 lakh cusec today morning. Its impact will be felt in Mundali after 24 hours, he said.
