3 min readBhubaneswarJul 29, 2026 06:24 PM IST
At least three people — including a fire personnel — have died, while over 2 lakh people have been affected across 748 villages in six districts due to floods triggered by heavy rain over the last few days.
Officials said Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur in northern Odisha are the worst hit, while Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj and Sambalpur have also been affected. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas in these districts.
According to Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, the three deaths are from Keonjhar district. The fire service personnel died of electrocution, while an elderly person died in a wall collapse.
The third victim was a child who was swept away in the rain.
“We have sought a report from the district collector about the casualties. Since the casualties are from the chief minister’s home district, we have also apprised him about the situation,” Pujari told reporters after a review meeting.
The minister said there have been no reports of human or animal casualties from Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur, where the situation remains grim. Major rivers such as the Baitarani, Salandi and Jalaka are in spate, flowing above the danger level at several places.
As many as 226 villages in the six districts remain marooned and cut off due to the floods, with authorities evacuating residents to safety.
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“Special care of the elderly, women and children is being taken at flood relief centres. The administration has been put on alert. Floodwaters have also damaged 761 houses and inundated nearly 8,000 hectares of agricultural land,” Pujari said.
More than 60 teams of the NDRF, ODRAF and fire service personnel have been deployed in the affected districts, while three senior IAS officers have been deputed to Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur to assist the district administration.
Leave of government officials has been cancelled in the affected districts.
The chief minister, who is in New Delhi, also reviewed the situation.
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According to the revenue minister, the districts of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Gajapati and Malkangiri have also been affected by heavy rain, and schools and anganwadi centres in 10 districts have been ordered to remain closed.
Meanwhile, a moderate flood is expected in the Mahanadi river system due to heavy inflows from the upper catchment. Authorities said this could affect Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda and Cuttack districts.
“Water level in Hirakud reservoir stood at 616 feet on Wednesday afternoon against its full capacity of 630 feet,” Water Resources Department engineer-in-chief Dilip Rout said.
Rout said around 9 lakh cusecs of water is likely to be released at Mundali in Cuttack district by Thursday evening, triggering a medium-range flood.