Schools shut in 3 Odisha districts amid heavy rain warning; IMD issues ‘red alert’

Schools across three Odisha districts were shut on Monday after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert owing to a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal forecasting extremely heavy rainfall and raising fears of flash floods in these districts.The current weather system is the third low-pressure area to affect Odisha this month. (iStock file photo)Schools remained closed in Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts as a precautionary measure, while the IMD placed Mayurbhanj under a red warning along with Sundargarh and Keonjhar, where extremely heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places.The IMD said the deep depression was centred over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining the West Bengal-North Odisha coast at 5:30am on Monday, about 120 km east-southeast of Balasore. The system had moved slowly northwards at a speed of 3kmph during the previous six hours and was expected to move north-northwest before crossing the West Bengal-North Odisha coast between Balasore and Canning by Monday afternoon.IMD regional director Manorama Mohanty warned that the system could trigger widespread heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and squally weather across Odisha through July 29.In Mayurbhanj, district education officer Purna Chandra Sethi ordered the closure of all government and private educational institutions up to Class 12 on Monday. Teachers and non-teaching staff, however, were instructed to report for duty and remain in coordination with local authorities to respond to any emergency.Also Read:IMD issues red alert for 7 districts as heavy rain lashes OdishaJagatsinghpur district administration suspended classes in all government, government-aided and private schools, including elementary, secondary and higher secondary institutions, Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas. All Anganwadi centres in the district also remained closed. The Kendrapara district administration similarly announced a one-day closure of schools as a precaution against the forecast of intense rainfall.The IMD issued an orange warning for Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Subarnapur, Boudh and Kandhamal districts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall.The special relief commissioner directed collectors of 27 of the 30 districts to remain on high alert after forecasting indicated the possibility of flash flood-like situations due to continuous rainfall.Odisha has witnessed an exceptionally wet July after a relatively dry June, with the state recording 467.9 mm of rainfall so far this month, about 67% above the normal level, the highest positive departure among all states.The current weather system is the third low-pressure area to affect Odisha this month. Earlier systems developed over the Bay of Bengal on July 3 and July 14, bringing repeated spells of heavy rainfall that erased much of the state’s monsoon rainfall deficit.Meteorological expert Sarat Chandra Sahoo said low-pressure systems over the Bay of Bengal are the principal drivers of Odisha’s monsoon rainfall, often intensifying into stronger weather systems capable of producing heavy to very heavy precipitation.“A normal monsoon season witnesses around 10 to 13 low-pressure systems over the Bay of Bengal. These systems strengthen the monsoon flow and are primarily responsible for widespread rainfall across Odisha,” Sahoo said.