Odisha rains: 5 more die of house collapse, drowning, death toll rises to 12; flood fears in Mahanadi

Bhubaneswar: As heavy rainfall continues to trigger parts of Odisha, the death toll surged to 12 with 5 more people killed due to a house collapse on Friday (August 29). 

Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner, Pradeep Kumar Jena said, ''5 more people died in Odisha due to house collapse & drowning in Bargarh, Nuapada, Jajpur, Baleswar and Bhadrak. ''

Earlier on Thursday, seven people had died and two were missing. The deaths were reported from Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundergarh and 2 were missing in Bargarh and Mayurbhanj.

Over 3.83 lakh people in 552 villages are marooned, while 2,757 houses have been damaged said Jena.

The water level of the Mahanadi river is continuously rising creating flood fear. The flood in the Mahanadi river system is likely to affect coastal districts such as Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Nayagarh, another official said.

Major rivers such as Baitarani, Brahmani, Subarnarekha and Budhabalanga are in spate with their water flowing above the danger-mark, submerging low-lying areas and paddy fields in several districts.

Till Thursday, nearly  7,000 people were evacuated from low lying and vulnerable areas and shifted to safer areas.