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Floods recede in Orissa, many marooned
Relief workers were battling to help more than 500,000 people still marooned in Orissa on Sunday as swollen rivers receded, officials said.
Relief workers were battling to help more than 500,000 people still marooned in Orissa on Sunday as swollen rivers receded, officials said.
The floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains have left 45 people dead and affected more than seven million people in the last 10 days in the poverty-stricken coastal state. Huge swathes of muddy water criss-crossed the landscape in the state's central eastern districts, home to more than 10,000 villages.
"The trend of all the rivers is that water levels continue to fall," Karunakar Biswas, a government official, said. "Over 500,000 people are still marooned. But the number of people totally cut off is decreasing as waters recede particularly into the Bay of Bengal," Biswas said.
Even though waters were receding, officials said in many areas fast moving currents had made relief operations dangerous. They said high tides over the past two days had prevented flooded water in low-lying areas flowing into the sea, although the situation was expected to improve.
"By today, the outflow into the sea should really start," said A K Patnaik, another government official. To aid thousands still stranded in villages cut off by the floods, eight Indian Air Force helicopters and 1,000 government boats including military motor launches, were supplying food and medicines, officials said.
Bureau Report
The floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains have left 45 people dead and affected more than seven million people in the last 10 days in the poverty-stricken coastal state. Huge swathes of muddy water criss-crossed the landscape in the state's central eastern districts, home to more than 10,000 villages.
"The trend of all the rivers is that water levels continue to fall," Karunakar Biswas, a government official, said. "Over 500,000 people are still marooned. But the number of people totally cut off is decreasing as waters recede particularly into the Bay of Bengal," Biswas said.
Even though waters were receding, officials said in many areas fast moving currents had made relief operations dangerous. They said high tides over the past two days had prevented flooded water in low-lying areas flowing into the sea, although the situation was expected to improve.
"By today, the outflow into the sea should really start," said A K Patnaik, another government official. To aid thousands still stranded in villages cut off by the floods, eight Indian Air Force helicopters and 1,000 government boats including military motor launches, were supplying food and medicines, officials said.
Bureau Report