Heavy rains in the state, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack areas waterlogged

Bhubaneswar: Heavy rains lashed many parts of Odisha, mostly the coastal region, leading to waterlogging in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Saturday.

The waterlogging in Bhubaneswar led to traffic jams and caused difficulty for people to drive vehicles in knee-deep water at many places while many slums and low-lying areas were submerged under water. Cars and motorbikes were submerged in rainwater and the drains got choked at some points.

Bomikhal-Rasulgarh Road, Nayapalli Road near Iskcon temple, Jayadev Vihar and other major locations in Bhubaneswar were waterlogged after heavy downpour.

Cuttack also witnessed waterlogging and heavy traffic jam due to the rainfall. Vehicular traffic was affected in the city for nearly two to three hours.

The IMD said the highest 118.4 mm rainfall was recorded at Jharsuguda followed by 68.2 mm at Chandbali, 35.2 mm in Bhubaneswar, 13.5 mm in Balasore, 6 mm in Paradip, 7.2 mm in Puri and 10.6 mm at Sambalpur between 8.30 am and 11.30 am.

Similarly, the IMD record said intense rainfall activities were observed in many areas before 8.30 am. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 14.7 mm and 41.8 mm of rainfall respectively by 8.30 am, it said.

The weather office said the State recorded an average rainfall of 10.3 mm during the last 24 hours. Similarly, the average rainfall recorded from July 1 to July 15 was 98.1 mm against the July monthly average of 339.9 mm.