REPORT ON FLOOD HAVOC IN ORISSA

Assessment Date & Time: 21st September 2008 up to 7 PM

An Overview:
With the magnitude of devastation caused by furious flood, Orissa has experienced a
rampage wreaking havoc in 4500 villages under 17 districts after a long span of time of
26 years and witnessed one of the worst misfortunes of people in its history.

The horror has shuttled the lives of 24 lakh people in almost all coastal districts of the
state and has occupied 24 lives in different affected areas so far. Around 4 lakh
people have been marooned in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack and Puri districts
while flood water submerged more areas breaching river embankments. There are 57
breaches in these four districts compounding the misery of people who spent sleepless
nights on the embankments keeping a watch on the increasing water level.

In order to get command over the overwhelming water flow, Government recently has
decided to close 7 sluice gates out of 46 gates opened yesterday at Hirakud dam still there
is enough water which was surpassed earlier to create the panic at all affected areas.

The havoc has been amplitude to vast regions of the state where life is very miserable and
untold. The affected lives and regions of Orissa are consolidated as follows:

No. of districts – 17
No. of blocks – 200 out of 314
No. of NAC – 18
No. of villages – 4500
No. of people marooned – 24 lakh
No. of people evacuated – 1.8 lakh
No. of deaths - 24
No. of breaches - 57
No. of roads disrupted – 20
Loss of agricultural crops – 40
thousand hectare
No. of household damages – 6417
No. of livestock loss - 3000
Loss of gross property – Rs.2500
crores (till date)

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The situation is bayonet in four affected coastal districts as gushing waters of mighty
Mahanandi and its tributaries inundated vast coastal belts in Orissa on Saturday. People
braced up to a grim flood situation as major rivers including Mahanadi was carrying
flooded water of 15.81 lakh cusec water yesterday at Naraj and Munduli barrage.
However, there has been a marginal reduction in the discharge level of water at Munduli
to 15.72 lakh cusec from 15.81 lakh cusec recorded yesterday.

Close to 1.80 lakh people have been evacuated to safer places till now, still number of
lives are under threaten as Mahanadi is surpassing more and more flood water to its
embankments with an alarming speed. Army engaged by the Govt. stood by to assist the
volunteers in rescue and relief operation. IAF choppers rescued two persons from near-
death situations at Garadpur in Kendrapara. Banki sub-division had virtually been overrun
by Mahanadi and remained cut off for the second day.

Flood Affected Areas in Focus:

At least 24 persons have lost their lives while lakhs of villagers have been marooned by sea
of floodwaters in highly affected Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Puri
district.

Other districts, which came under the grip of this devastative flood caused by heavy rains
under influence of a depression earlier this week, are Bhadrak, Balasore, Keonjhar,
Gajapati, Boudh, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi and Rayagada.

District administrations and other volunteers evacuated 1,80,748 people after they were
encircled by water. A helicopter of Indian Air Force rescued about 50 people who were
stranded on a rooftop in Patkura area of Kendrapara district.

People are seen fleeing to safer places as water discharge completely made their
habitations submerged. While breaches are occurred at the Mahanadi embankment, the
flood water is in force to break other embankments of several rivers. 5 breaches has
already occurred in the Chitrotpala river followed by 2 each in Devi and Luna and 1 each
in Bhargabi, Kandala, Kathajodi, Kushabhadra, Kanei and Biluakhai. The personnel of
Water Resources Department have maintained a constant vigil on 'Daleighai' embankment
on river Devi in Jagatsinghpur district.

Flood havoc has swiped away many villages and number of households mostly in 4 coastal
district along with Gajapati, Bolangir, Boudh and Rayagada in southern region. Not only
the force of Mahanadi is threatened to get out of control but other rivers like; Brahmani,
Baitarani, Budhabalanga and Bansadhara has already crossed the danger level at their
existence.

This time, flood has so far affected 17 districts of the state, namely, Angul, Bolangir,
Kalahandi, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Balasore,
Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Boudh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Gajapati and Rayagada.

Appeal of Chief Minister:

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with the Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal made an
aerial survey of flood areas and reviewed the flood situation in a meeting, is expected to
make a number of aerial surveys to different flood hit areas at the subsequent stage.

Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik send a letter to Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh on
Saturday seeking 1,500 crore for relief and rescue operation in the State and urged
the Prime Minister to declare the flood havoc as a national disaster.

The Chief Minister in his letter has mentioned that due to the current flood, properties
worth Rs 2,500 crores have been damaged while 16 people have been killed so far.

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Moreover, the CM has also gone through the report on flood at a meeting here at State
Secretariat on Saturday and asked authorities to step of rescue and relief operations in all
flood-affected areas.

The Major Areas of Grave Concern:

Initial estimates said 200 out of 314 blocks of Orissa had been affected by the flood which
had so far claimed 24 lives. The areas where the devastation is clearly apparent are as
follows:

14 blocks in Cuttack

9 blocks in Kendrapara

8 blocks in Jagatsinghpur

8 blocks in Jajpur

7 blocks in Puri
Water flow in Mahanadi has shown the sign of stability but the river still creating breaches
at many places. At Munduli, the water discharge, which stood at 15.81 lakh cusec at 6
a.m., dropped to 14.94 lakh cusec by night.

Cuttack - Mahanadi is flowing over the danger level at Naraj, while its branch river
Kathjodi is also flowing over the danger mark at Bellevue gauge station near Cuttack.
Lakhs of people have been marooned in Banki and Athgarh areas of Cuttack district. Road
communication between Cuttack and Banki has been snapped due to a breach. Thousands
of people fled their homes to safer places in most areas of the district to save their lives.
Around 14 blocks of the district including Banki, Athagarh, Tigiria, Baramba, Sadar, Tangi,
Baranga, Niali, Kantapada, Salepur, Nischintakoili, Dampada, Mahanga and Narasinghpur
have been highly affected where people of 130 GPs and 445 villages are suffering very
acute difficulties.

Due to overwhelming water surpassing from Mahanadi there has been disruptions in the
way of Cuttack to Sambalpur. 42mauja of the region have completely been detached from
other parts of the district. As per the present assumption, there are more than 15
thousand people marooned in the locality of Cuttack Sadar. 5000 households are in panic
because of the breakage in gheribandh at Kantapada block. River Devi and Kandal are
above the danger signal of 2 feet which threatening the lives in Niali block and made
number of villages away from mainstream of communication.
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Kendrapara - Surging water in the river, namely, Brahmani, Luna, Govari, Birupa,
Chitrotpala, Paika, Kani, Baitarani and Kharasrota have been inundated large areas in 9
blocks of the district, namely, Kendrapara, Rajkanika, Rajnagar, Marsaghai, Derabish,
Mahakalpara, Pattamundai, Aul and Garadapur. All the above mentioned rivers flowing at
the maximum point of 4 feet high from danger. Around 572705 people in 459 villages of
the district are marooned in the water circle and above 15000 people have taken shelter
at different safer places like; school, root of buildings and temples.

Jagatsinghpur – Till now, life is in danger at almost all parts of Jagatsinghpur district and
the situation is worsening from time to time as the surging water of rivers like; Devi,
Kandal and Biluakhai are flowing heavily submerging number of habitations. The water
flow is very furious at the point of Alipingal which has been measured at 12.62 crossing the
danger point at 11.76. The most sensitive point of devastation is at Daleighai, where water
flows at a height of 61.60 crossing the danger mark of 57 feet. Most part of the
Machhagaon and Balikuda areas are also submerged in flood water. Around 188 villages
under 61 GPs in 8 blocks have been affected and near about 141349 populations are still in
the water circle.

Jajpur - Nearly 280415 people of 387 villages under 89 GPs of 8 blocks in Jajpur district
have been affected by the flood. At many places road communication has been snapped as
flood water of Baitarani, Brahmani, Birupa and Genguti flows severely. Particularly 30
villages of Barchana block have been highly disrupted. Flood water from Brahmani and
Baitarani has entered many villages in Korei, Dasarathpur and Bari block. Over 50 thousand
people of 100 villages in these blocks have been marooned so far.

Puri – Most of the habitations in 7 blocks, namely, Kanas, Balianta, Balipatna, Nimapara,
Gop, Astarang, Kakatpur, Pipili and Delanga are highly submerged by the water flow of the
rivers. The situation in almost all parts of Puri district has become a grave concern on
survival of human life. The major rivers of the district like; Kushabhadra, Bhargavi, Daya,
Dhanua, Kuakhai, Rajua, Makara and Prachi are flowing severely after crossing the level of

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danger point. The suffered population is 15000 in 235 villages under 50 GPs of aforesaid 7
blocks.

Nayagarh - The swollen Mahanadi has inundated 150 villages mostly in Gania, Khandapada
and Bhapur blocks. People have taken shelter in nearby schools, temples and other safer
places to save their family. Around 20000 domestic animals have been away from their
respective locality. The entire 25 km stretch along the Mahanadi from Rasanga to
Chhamundia has been flooded marooning 30 villages. Road connection between Gania and
Chhamundia has been snapped as 7 feet water flowing on the road. Kantilo has been cut
off from all sides of communication. Apart from this, vast stretches of agricultural land in
Gania, Khandapara and Bhapur blocks have been submerged.

Sonepur - As per the latest information received from the district, the flood situation has
affected 6 blocks and 3 urban pockets of the district. Total 5500 population from 234
villages in 38 Gram Panchayats severely affected. Total 6608 numbers of houses damaged
where 778 houses fully, 3741 houses marginally and 2089 houses partly damaged. 15000
hector of crop area affected in the flood. Shelter camps are opening in different areas of
the district. Some of them are as below:

Tarbha Block :
Tarbha, Menda
and Kansira
Sonepur Block :
Sonepur Municipality
Ulunda Block :
Ulunda
B.M.Pur Block :
Birmaharajpur and
Subalaya

As per the information

received at this end,
Boudh district has been
cut off from rest part
of the state and many
places in southern
districts of Gajapati,
Bolangir, Kalahandi and Rayagada has been out of bounds as flood water from local rivers
submerged almost all means of communications. Sambalpur town has also been submerged
by water discharged from Hirakud dam and vested people to live in incommunicable
surroundings. Visualizing these dreaded situations there is an imperative need of
interventions to save the victims at large.

Current Situation of Affected Areas:

Lives of people are very miserable and the victims are battling for survival. Evacuation of
people living in low-lying areas has been carried out by the Government, still a large
number of people yet to be evacuated as all the roads and other ways has been disrupted
to access them.

Food & Clothing:

Relief provided by the government is not reaching at every point of the affected regions.
Somewhere the quantity of food and cloth is scarcely available. People are hungry since
last 6 days. Particularly the children in most of the affected areas are suffering from acute
hunger. Clothes and other materials at the shelter are not being adequate to the people.

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Education:
Number of school buildings have been collapsed and lot of other infrastructures lost due to
the havoc. All schools in the above regions have been closed since last 3 days and the
teachers have been ordered to help in relief and rescue operation.

Health:
People, particularly the children are suffering from diarrhea, fever and other waterborne
diseases during these days due to water pollution. Safe drinking water is nowhere
available. Almost all water sources are submerged. People are using the flood water
without any scope to purify. Health care service provided by the Government is not being
adequate to serve all the affected people.

Agriculture & Livestock:

In most of the above regions agricultural crops have been fully damaged which has broken
economical backbone of the people. The lives of domestic animals and other livestock are
very miserable to see from back and forth. Number of animals have lost their lives and
some who survived are still in the water circle as all the routes to come out has been
disconnected.

Action taken by State Government:

Alarmed over the situation, the state government has asked the army to stand by for relief
and rescue operation for preventing a complete deluge. Two helicopters of the Indian Air
Force have been provided by
the Government for rescue
and relief operation. Besides
Mahanadi, other major rivers
like Baitarani, Brahmani,
Rushikulya and Vamsadhara
are also in spate. 65 free
kitchens have been opened
to provide food to the
people in distress and a little
quantity of medicines,
halogen tablets and water
pouches have been stored for distribution. Government has also planned to depute post-
graduate medical students into service in the affected areas, if required. Further,
Government has announced of a relief distribution for seven days in the flood-affected
areas.
Immediate Need of Interventions:

Provision of sufficient food

and cloth

Provision of safe drinking
water

Provision of materials for
establishment of temporary
shelters

Provision of primary Health
Care Service to eradicate
flood-raised diseases

Provision of financial
assistance for reconstruction
of their damaged houses.

Source of Information: Different Print Medias & News Bulletins of TV Channels, OSDMA &
SRC, Govt. of Orissa, District level Emergency Officers, Field functionaries of BISWA.