Overflowing rivers flood parts of northern Odisha

August 25, 2025

Bhubaneswar: Several parts of Odisha’s northern districts—Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur—were inundated on Monday due to overflowing of rivers.

Balasore district is the worst-affected, with Balipal, Basta, Bhograi and Jaleswar blocks inundated by the overflowing Sabarnarekha river.

In Bhadrak district, the overflowing Baitarani river has inundated Dhamnagar and Bhandaripokhari blocks. The river is flowing above the danger mark at Akhuapara.

Several villages in Dasarathpur block of Jajpur district have been inundated due to a 30-metre breach in the embankment of the Kani river.

According to Engineer-in-Chief Chandrashekhar Padhi, the water level of the Brahmani river is also rising rapidly. He said that the Sabarnarekha river was flowing above the danger mark at Rajghat in Balasore at 10 am and its water level may decrease for some time, but it is expected to rise again due to continuous rain in the upper areas.

The Brahmani river is in spate after heavy rainfall in Bonai block of Sundargarh district. The Siya Joda bridge near Jangla has reached very close to the water level, affecting traffic.

Schools and Anganwadi centers have been closed for two days in view of bad weather in some parts of Bhadrak.

Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said that the administration of the affected districts has been instructed to start relief and rescue operations immediately.