Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain accompanied by a thunderstorm that lashed the city for about three hours on Wednesday brought life to a standstill as people were stranded across the state capital.

Office-goers were among the worst-hit as the shower began just when they were leaving home for the workplace. The rain started around 9am and continued till noon, inundating low-lying areas and parts of NH-5.

People were seen wading through waterlogged streets near Iskcon Temple, Fire Station Square and Baramunda.

"I was on my way to Baramunda to board a bus to Balasore for work, but couldn't cross Fire Station Square because of the rain. I took shelter under the flyover for nearly two hours. I suffered a huge loss today," said Gaja Vihar resident Preet Mohapatra.

The waterlogged national highway compounded people's problems as the stretch continues to go under water despite civic measures to check the problem. "I am tired of reliving this situation," said Faisal Khan, a garage owner at Nayapalli.

Khan was stranded near Jayadev Vihar and couldn't reach the other side of the highway to open his shop. "This is not the first time that I am witnessing such a situation. I face huge losses during the rains as the area near Iskcon Temple goes under and blocks my way to the shop."

Bhubaneswar Regional Met Centre director Sarat Chandra Sahu said the rain was caused by a nor'wester concentrated thundercloud that formed over the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border. It approached the city steadily and triggered the rainfall. "The heat and humidity of the past two days also contributed to this morning's rain. It is likely to recur over the next few days," he said.

Bhubaneswar received 68mm rain, according to Met records, while Cuttack received 32.8mm. The situation in Cuttack and Puri also reached an alarming state as low-lying areas, including the Grand Road in Puri, went under rainwater. Tourists to Puri and Konark had difficulty dealing with the rain.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they did not receive any waterlogging complaints. However, he said, wherever they learned of such situations, they sent officials to tackle it. "We are ready to tackle any situation."

The Met centre has already predicted a squall accompanied by hail and gusty surface wind with speeds reaching up to 60k per hour for the costal belt, including Bhubaneswar. "We have put the agencies and people concern on alert about the weather change," said Sahu.