Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain pounded parts of north Odisha, particularly Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts, since Wednesday under the influence of a low pressure area, leading to waterlogging in several low-lying areas. The downpour also triggered flash flood-like conditions in pockets of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts, disrupting road communication.With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red warning for extremely heavy rainfall in Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts on Thursday, along with orange and yellow alerts for several other districts, authorities fear further disruption over the next 24 hours.According to IMD’s rainfall data, Bhograi in Balasore recorded the highest rainfall in the state of 236 mm in the 24 hours ending Thursday morning. Samakhunta and Baripada in Mayurbhanj received 230 mm and 215 mm rainfall respectively.An IMD bulletin said the low pressure system intensified into a depression over coastal West Bengal. It was centred about 190 km east-northeast of Baripada and is likely to move northwestwards across gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand by Friday.Director, IMD, regional centre Manorama Mohanty said rain activity would continue in several districts till Aug 15 under the system’s influence. An orange warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued for Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh and Sambalpur districts on Friday.A yellow warning for heavy rainfall has also been sounded for Balasore, Deogarh, Angul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sonepur, Boudh, Nuapada and Balangir districts on Friday. Mohanty said four places in the state received extremely heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours, while 31 other locations recorded very heavy to heavy rainfall.
