At least five people were killed and five others were injured in separate cases of rain-related incidents as 10 districts in Odisha continued to experience incessant rainfall since Wednesday night due to a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.
Special relief commissioner PK Jena said the deaths were reported from Kandhamal, Puri, Balasore, Kenndrapara and Keonjhar districts. Most of the deaths happened due to collapse of mud walls that caved in due to continuous rains, he said.
In Puri, a priest of the Jagannath temple died in a wall collapse incident while an elderly man in Kendrapara district died after a major part of the wall of their house collapsed last night. In Balasore district, a man was killed and his four-year-old daughter seriously injured after a wall of their living room collapsed.11 districts in Odisha declared a shutdown of all schools in their districts due to heavy rainfall.
In tribal-dominated Gajapati and Rayagada districts, incessant rains led to mudslides in hill top areas in Gajapati and Rayagada districts burying several houses. At least 20 houses were buried in two villages of Gajapati district due to mudslides. Though no human casualty was reported, several cattle perished in the mudslide.In Rayagada district, communication on Gunupur-Putasing road in Rayagada was disrupted due to rockslide from the nearby hill.
