Heavy rain and landslides batter Odisha; one dead, two missing

BHUBANESWAR: Heavy rainfall, triggered by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal, lashed Odisha on Thursday, disrupting normal life with widespread waterlogging, landslides, and transport disruptions. The weather event left one person dead and two others missing, officials reported.

The intensity of the rain increased as the depression made landfall near Gopalpur in Ganjam district on Thursday evening, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which also confirmed that downpours would persist until 8:30 am on Friday.One person died and two others went missing in landslides reported at six locations in Gajapati district, due to incessant rain over the past two days,” Superintendent of Police Jatindra Kumar Panda told PTI via telephone. “The deceased was buried under debris following a landslide under the jurisdiction of R Udaygiri Police Station,” he added.In a separate incident, two individuals were injured when a decorative bamboo gate, erected for the Durga Puja celebrations in Balikuda, collapsed. The injured were admitted to a nearby community health centre, according to police.

Officials from the state revenue department confirmed that landslides had occurred in Gajapati, Rayagada, and Koraput districts, while trees were uprooted in parts of Ganjam.

Train services were also disrupted across southern Odisha due to the rainfall and landslides. According to East Coast Railway (ECoR), boulders fell along several sections of the Kottavalasa-Kirandul and Express was cancelled, and the Kirandul-Visakhapatnam train, scheduled for 2nd October, was terminated early at Koraput. The Santragachi-Yesvantpur Weekly Express was rescheduled.

In Koraput district, rainwater submerged a bridge, halting vehicular movement on National Highway 326, a key route connecting Odisha with Andhra Pradesh.Gopalpur recorded a maximum wind speed of 73 km/h in gusts during the event, according to IMD officials.

The system is expected to continue moving north-northwestwards across southern Odisha and weaken into a depression by the morning of 3rd October.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told a news channel that several parts of the state would continue to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall until Friday morning. Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre’s Director, Manorama Mohanty, confirmed that squally winds of 55–65 km/h, gusting to 75 km/h

Seventy-year-old Kartika Shabara and his son Rajib Shabara were reported missing after a landslide struck near Pekat in the Rayagada block of the district. Rescue operations are underway, although key roads linking Rayagada with Nuagarh and R Udaygiri have been severed, said Panda.