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Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday reviewed the situation arising from rainfall triggered by a Deep Depression over the Bay of Bengal and directed officials to maintain the highest level of preparedness with a focus on ensuring zero casualty.
The Chief Minister held a review meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan and instructed district administrations to ensure round-the-clock emergency response, prepare relief shelters and maintain adequate stocks of essential supplies in view of the weather system. A total of 33 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams have been deployed across affected districts, while nine additional teams have been kept on standby at Chhatrapur. The Deep Depression over the Bay of Bengal is likely to cross the North Andhra PradeshSouth Odisha coast between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur, near Kalingapatnam, by Wednesday night. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red warning for Rayagada, Koraput, Gajapati and Ganjam districts, while orange and yellow warnings have been issued for several other districts. The state government has directed officials to remain alert and take necessary measures to minimise the impact of heavy rainfall and ensure the safety of residents in vulnerable areas. Earlier, on September 12, heavy rain lashed parts of Puri city as a low-pressure area over the northwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal continued to influence weather conditions over Odisha. According to IMD, the low-pressure area, which was persisting over the same region on Thursday afternoon, was likely to become more marked and move west-northwestwards across Odisha and north coastal Andhra Pradesh during the next 24 hours. The system's associated cyclonic circulation extends up to about 7.6 km above mean sea level, the bulletin said. A trough extending from north Rajasthan to the cyclonic circulation linked to the low-pressure area is also influencing the weather over central India and Odisha. The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at most places across Odisha during the first 24 hours. The latest district forecast has placed Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri under an orange warning, with heavy to very heavy rainfall likely at one or two places. A yellow warning has been issued for Baleshwar, where heavy rainfall is possible at isolated locations. The weather office has also warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph over one or two places across Subarnapur, Boudh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri and Khordha. (ANI)
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