Friday, September 26, 2008

56 die in Orissa floods; eight-lakh remained marooned

Bhubaneswar:(Visakeo) Death toll in Orissa floods mounted to 56 on Thursday as the number of breaches on embankments rose to 240, engulfing fresh areas in Mahanadi deltaic region where about 8,00,000 people still remained marooned.



As many as 140 fresh breaches took place on embankments in the Mahanadi river system, taking the number of breaches to 240 and leading to submergence of about 65 more villages in coastal Orissa, Revenue Secretary G V V Sarma said.



With flood waters sweeping away village after village, the number of people affected by the devastating deluge mounted to 42.2 lakh, he said adding the number of districts hit by floods also rose to 19 with the inclusion of Nuapada.



While the number of villages completely marooned increased to 871 today from 827 yesterday, about 26,000 people in some villages in Delang area of Puri district and around 15,000 in Kujang area in Jagatsinghpur were yet to get relief assistance, he said.



Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who reviewed the situation and relief operation, asked the officials to complete survey of the extent of damage caused by the floods within 15 days.



Government employees were asked to remain in their respective headquarters during Dussehra festival.



Death toll due to floods, which stood at 48 yesterday, mounted to 56 with four casualties each reported from Cuttack and Kalahandi districts.

No comments: