The Ganjam floods have affected more than 1.05 lakh people across all 22 blocks, damaging homes, shops and villages as authorities begin restoring essential services after a week of relentless rain, officials said. The administration has opened 367 relief camps and provided cooked food to around 56,051 people, while food was airdropped in areas that remained inaccessible.
Ganjam collector Keerthi Vasan V said relief operations were continuing as floodwaters receded. The flooding followed extreme rainfall after Cyclone Arnab made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, causing the Rushikulya river to swell and inundate settlements in the district.
In Nuagaon under Sorada block, nearly eight feet of water entered the home of 70-year-old Mamata on October 29. As the water receded, she and her family were left drying soaked belongings and covering the damaged house with polythene. She told the Times of India that she had lost everything in the flooding.
The impact has also been reported in market areas. At Kalasandhapur near Aska, a grocer was drying provisions after floodwater washed away much of his stock. In Aska’s Kalinga Road area, 55-year-old Purna Panigrahy said he and four family members climbed onto their roof as the water rose. The family went without food for two days after supplies inside the house were destroyed, before receiving cooked food on Friday.
Panigrahy’s elder brother, 63-year-old Surya Narayan Panigrahy, said the family had witnessed the severe Aska flood of 1990 but considered this year’s deluge more serious. Resident Basant Kumar Pathy said the disruption had extended across farmers, traders and other residents, indicating that the flooding was affecting both household security and local livelihoods.
The 1990 flood had damaged infrastructure in the region, including six old bridges at Aska, Bhanjanagar, Sorada and Maulabhanja. The comparison highlights the continuing importance of transport links and essential services during flood emergencies, particularly when residents are cut off and relief supplies must be delivered by air.
With weather conditions improving, restoration work has begun across affected areas. Commerce and transport minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena, who is monitoring the response, said the situation was gradually improving and that the administration was working to restore normalcy on a war footing. Officials are continuing relief distribution and the restoration of essential services as floodwaters recede.
