Ganjam district administration has cancelled the leave of government employees until October 29 and placed emergency agencies on alert as a weather system over the Bay of Bengal is forecast to intensify into a cyclonic storm, raising the risk of heavy rain, flooding and urban inundation across coastal Odisha.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast that the well-marked low-pressure area could intensify into a cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by Monday morning and strengthen further while moving towards north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha by October 28 morning. The weather system is expected to bring heavy rainfall to Ganjam, for which the IMD has issued a red alert.
At a preparatory meeting in Chhatrapur on Saturday, Ganjam Collector Keerthi Vasan V directed government employees to remain at their workplaces and prepare cyclone and temporary shelters. The administration said it has capacity to accommodate about 1.5 lakh people across 110 multipurpose cyclone shelters and 1,000 identified temporary shelter centres.
“If required, people in coastal villages and low-lying areas will be evacuated and housed in the shelters,” the collector said, according to the report. The planned response focuses on residents of coastal and low-lying areas that could face flooding, high winds and disruption during the storm’s approach.
Nine Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force teams and two National Disaster Response Force teams have been stationed in the district to respond to potential flooding and rain-related incidents. Fire services personnel have also been placed on alert, while a control room has been opened in Chhatrapur to coordinate the emergency response.
The administration has asked water resources department engineers to identify vulnerable points and take preventive measures to protect river embankments and reservoirs. Civic bodies have been instructed to clean drains before the heavy rain begins, a measure aimed at reducing waterlogging and urban flooding.
The instruction follows flooding reported in several parts of Berhampur Municipal Corporation during heavy rain in the first week of October. The earlier inundation has made drainage capacity and the condition of local water channels an immediate operational concern as the district prepares for another spell of severe weather.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea from Saturday until October 30 because of rough sea conditions. Those already at sea have been asked to return immediately, the collector said. The next steps are the continued preparation of shelters, monitoring of vulnerable infrastructure and readiness for evacuation if conditions deteriorate.
