Five more people died in Odisha due to floods in the state, taking the toll to 13 as rising waters and heavy rain disrupted life across six districts with schools remaining shut in three districts on Tuesday, officials said.
He lost his footing and was carried away by the current. In Keonjhar district, Bhaktabandhu Mahanta was swept away in floodwater at Ghurudia Nala in Telkoi block while going to his agricultural land. His body was found by local residents caught in bushes near Patrasahi ghat. The boy was unable to distinguish the flooded road from an adjoining field, both of which were under water. Family members rescued him and took him to hospital, where doctors declared him dead. The couple were rescued from the debris using a JCB. Hemalata was declared dead at the Badampahar Community Health Centre, while Birabhadra, who suffered serious injuries, was shifted to the Rairangpur Sub-Divisional Hospital. In Jajpur, the administration ordered the closure of all government, private and Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya schools, urging parents to keep children indoors and away from waterlogged areas.
Because of the forecast of heavy rain and the flood situation, schools and Anganwadi centres have also been closed in Sundargarh. In Jajpur district, an 11-year-old boy drowned after being swept away by floodwater on a submerged road in Ichhapur village under Dasarathpur block. In Mayurbhanj district, a wall of a neighbouring house collapsed onto the home of 52-year-old Birabhadra Mohanta and his wife Hemalata at Badasahi village on Monday.
