Odisha floods triggered by heavy rain after Cyclone Arnab have killed three members of a family in Kandhamal, left villagers missing in Ganjam and disrupted road connectivity, healthcare and relief operations across several southern districts, officials and the Times of India reported on Friday.
Achyuta Pradhan, 30, a farmer, his wife Manshi, 25, and their one-year-old son were killed when a landslide buried their hilltop home at Dangesi in Raikia block of Kandhamal district. Special relief commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil confirmed the deaths. The bodies, believed to have been buried on Thursday, were found on Friday.
Rescue personnel trekked around six kilometres through muddy terrain to reach the village. Firefighters rescued two people, including an elderly woman. At least six villages, including Dangesi in Manikeswari panchayat, remained cut off after landslides, with further incidents reported at Kalinga Ghat. Panchayati raj minister Rabi Narayan Nayak was unable to reach Dangesi after the approach road was severed.
Officials also reported missing villagers at Gadipapalli in Ganjam, although the local administration had not established the number when rescue teams were preparing to reach the inaccessible settlement. “We have received information about some persons missing in Gadipapalli, but we have no information about their number,” said Uma Shankar Behera, sub-collector of Bhanjanagar. The precise situation was expected to become clearer after teams reached the village.
The flooding also halted traffic on the Barkul-Ichapuram stretch of NH-16, the Kolkata-Chennai highway, near the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border. The swollen Bahuda river overflowed onto the highway, stranding hundreds of trucks, buses and cars across a 50-kilometre stretch for more than 12 hours. At least two trucks were stuck in the floodwaters, while Andhra Pradesh police placed barricades to stop vehicles from entering the affected section.
Berhampur superintendent of police Abhinav Sonkar said vehicle movement towards Andhra Pradesh resumed around noon in coordination with the neighbouring state’s police. Traffic resumed on the highway on Friday evening, after the flooding disrupted a key inter-state road link used by long-distance freight and passenger traffic.
Government figures cited in the report put the number of affected people at 42,564 in Ganjam, 30,000 in Gajapati and 12,000 in Kandhamal. Koraput and Rayagada were also significantly affected. Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said Ganjam was the worst-hit district, followed by Gajapati and Kandhamal.
The Rushikulya river entered the sub-divisional hospital at Aska, inundating parts of the facility with seven to eight feet of water. Around 35 patients, including 15 women who had recently delivered babies, were moved to the first floor. Medical officer Balgopal Mishra said floodwater damaged equipment in the operation theatre and labour room, and normal operations could take several days to resume. Several patients, including pregnant women, were referred to Berhampur.
The Odisha government has deployed Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, National Disaster Response Force and fire service teams for rescue and relief. Helicopters are being used for rescue and food distribution, while people from vulnerable and low-lying areas are being moved to safer locations. Pregnant women are being prioritised for healthcare and medicines, and relief camps are receiving dry food, rice, jaggery, polythene sheets and drinking water.
District administrations have begun road restoration as floodwaters recede. Ganjam collector Keerthi Vasan V said damaged roads and culverts were being prioritised, but a detailed assessment of damage to infrastructure and standing crops was still pending. Authorities were also clearing landslide debris on the Koinpur-Gangabad road in Gajapati’s Rayagada block.
