Heavy Rains Flood Odisha's Sambalpur; Houses, Vehicles Submerged; Hirakud Opens 4 More Gates
The downpour also damaged infrastructure. On under-construction roads, gushing water carved out craters, disrupting traffic. Several vehicles attempting to cross waterlogged stretches were stranded and abandoned.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Sambalpur city reeled under heavy rainfall since Tuesday night, leaving several low-lying areas waterlogged and homes inundated. By Wednesday morning, the situation worsened, prompting Hirakud dam authorities to open four additional gates to release rising inflows.
Rainwater entered houses and submerged roads across Padhanpada, Dhanupali, Ainthapali and Danipali, with residents reporting ankle-deep water indoors. Locals described the stagnant pools across residential and commercial areas as an “artificial flood.”
The downpour also damaged infrastructure. On under-construction roads, gushing water carved out craters, disrupting traffic. Several vehicles attempting to cross waterlogged stretches were stranded and abandoned.
Hirakud dam is currently discharging excess water through six gates into the Mahanadi system. Authorities said the step was necessary after a sharp rise in reservoir inflows due to continuous rainfall in western Odisha. Officials are closely monitoring the dam’s inflow-outflow levels.
The IMD linked the heavy rain to a fresh low-pressure system over the northeast Bay of Bengal, expected to intensify and trigger widespread rainfall across Odisha until September 28. For Wednesday, Sambalpur and Sundargarh were placed under an Orange Warning, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain with wind speeds of 30–40 kmph.