Odisha floods: 18-year-old who spent hours on tree rescued

Jajpur (Odisha) [India], Aug 30 : A team of Rasulpur fire station has rescued an 18-year-old boy who had taken shelter on a palm tree near Keshapur village in Rasulpur block of Jajpur district as the swelling Brahmani river posed a serious flood threat in the area.
According to Sukanta Sethi, Chief Fire Officer, Odisha, Chandan Behera is a resident of Khandas village. The search and rescue operation after he went missing started at 9 pm yesterday.
Despite poor visibility and river current the rescue team successfully rescued him.
Meanwhile, the government authorities have informed that as many as 1.5 lakh people have been affected in 543 villages of Bhadrak district due to floods. A total of 12 people have died due to floods in the State while two are missing.

Speaking to ANI Shyama Bhakta, Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Bhadrak on Saturday, said there are seven blocks in Bhadrak with 218 panchayats, and 118 of them have been affected by the floods. As many as 1,454 houses in the district have been destroyed and about 3,858 people rescued by the district administration are being provided shelter at 36 flood relief centres.

While the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRF) teams are engaged in rescue operations, the district administration has directed the concerned tehsildars and block development officers to estimate the damage.

Various parts of the district have been flooded due to breaches in the embankments of overflowing Baitarani and Ganguti rivers. All seven blocks have been affected and thousands of hectares of farmland have been submerged.