Bhubaneswar, July 4: Heavy rain lashed most parts of interior Orissa today, flooding homes and causing widespread destruction.

However, the cyclonic circulation that had formed over the Bay of Bengal two days ago has weakened and moved to neighbouring Raipur in Chhattisgarh.

The rains over last three days in Orissa have left 19 people dead in Gajapati, Raygada, Ganjam, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh districts. The Rushikulya, Vamsadhara, Tel and Indravati rivers continue to flow above the danger level.

While the interior districts of Bolangir, Kalahandi, Phulbani and Nabrangpur were at the receiving end of nature’s wrath, several areas in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar went without electricity.

Met officials said the western Orissa town of Titlagarh in Bolangir saw 320 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, more than the average rainfall in Mumbai.

Junagarh and Bhawanipatna towns in Kalahandi received 310mm and 300mm of rainfall, respectively, and Tikabali in Phulbani got 290mm in the last 24 hours. The rain and swelling rivers have damaged the Kalahandi-Bolangir and Koraput-Raygada roads.

Revenue department officials said hundreds of villages are waterlogged. But special relief commissioner Jagadanand Panda said: “There is nothing to worry about. The rivers are receding.”

The cyclonic system moved west-northwest wards and lay near 21.5 degree north latitude and 81.5 degree east longitude close to Raipur. “The system is likely to move west-northwesterly and weaken gradually,” a Met official said.