A villagers carries fresh water to his waterlogged home in Balasore. (PTI)

Bhubaneswar, June 23: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today directed district officials to continue relief operations for a week more in the flood-hit areas. Naveen Patnaik issued the instruction while he was reviewing the relief and restoration operations this evening.

Air-dropping of relief continued today with the help of IAF helicopters, the chief minister was informed.

So far, more than 12.72-lakh people in 1,516 villages under 246 panchayats and 24 wards of three urban local bodies in five districts have been affected by the flood, according to an official estimate.

The flood has claimed four human lives (two in Mayurbhanj and one in Balasore and Bhadrak districts, respectively).

Today, Naveen laid stress on health care and dis-infection of contaminated drinking water sources in the flood-hit areas.

Though reports from Balasore stated that some people were already suffering from dysentery, health officials, however, claimed that there were no reports of outbreak of any epidemic diseases in the districts.

Yesterday, 272 dysentery cases were detected and treated, but no diarrhoea case was detected, said the officials.

Health department officials informed that 96 medical relief camps have been opened in flood-affected areas and 43 mobile health teams have been pressed into service. As many as 10,949 minor ailment cases were treated yesterday.

Sanitation activities are going on full swing.

Sources in the rural development department said more than 4.5-lakh drinking water pouches have been distributed and one truck-load of pouches have been stationed at Chandipur near Balasore to be dropped with the food packets.

Repair and restoration of damaged roads and infrastructure is on to after water receded from certain areas.