The Odisha government is planning to airlift 120 people stranded in flood-hit areas of Ganjam district due to heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Arnab, officials said on Thursday.
Cyclone Arnab weakened into a depression on Thursday and lay centred close to south Odisha triggering heavy rainfall in the districts of Gajapati and Ganjam, causing landslides, road damage, river swelling and inundation of low-lying areas. Union home minister Amit Shah has assured Odisha and other affected states of all possible assistance to deal with the impact of the cyclone. Patrapur in Ganjam recorded the state’s highest rainfall of 546mm in the 24 hours ending at 8:30am on Thursday, according to data released by the special relief commissioner’s office. Officials said it was the highest single day rainfall at a single place in Odisha in the last 35 years. Sorada, in Ganjam district, received 503.8mm, while G Udayagiri in Kandhamal recorded 462.4 mm. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies rainfall of 64.5-115.4 mm in 24 hours as heavy, 115.5-204.4 mm as very heavy and 204.5 mm or more as extremely heavy. IMD officials said the state’s highest recorded 24-hour rainfall was 825mm at Thuamul Rampur in Kalahandi district on July 28, 1991. Sambalpur recorded 581.9 mm on August 19, 1982, while Pottangi in Koraput district received 546mm on October 14, 1931.
