Villagers wade through floodwater near Balianta village on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. (PTI)

Bhubaneswar, July 31: The state government today alerted administration of coastal districts to remain on their toes to tackle possible flood situation caused by incessant rain in the catchment areas.

Major rivers in northern Odisha were in spate, while water level of the Mahanadi river system was on the rise following discharge of water from the Hirakud reservoir.

During the past 24 hours, 58.36mm rainfall has been recorded in the upper catchment of the Hirakud reservoir. It has forced dam authorities to open 17 sluice gates to discharge floodwater. Release of floodwater from the reservoir and incessant rainfall caused flood situation on the downstream.

Road communication between Sonepur and Sambalpur was cut off as the floodwater was flowing above the roads. Several parts of Sonepur district, including Sonepur and Birmaharajpur, were submerged.

In Balasore, two major rivers of the district — Subarnarekha and Jalaka — were flowing above the danger mark. The Subarnarekha river crossed its danger level at Rajghat in Jaleswar and the Jalaka river at Mathani near Basta. Floodwater of the Subarnarekha caused inundation of low-lying areas in Bhograi block. Mostly paddy fields in Bhograi, Jaleswar and Basta blocks of the district have got submerged.

Balasore additional district magistrate Akhaya Mahanty said the district administration was on high alert and keeping a close vigil of the situation.

The meteorology centre here said rain would take place at many places over Odisha during next 24 hours.

Strong surface wind with a speed up to 55km per hour may prevail along and off the Odisha coast. Fishermen were warned not to venture into the sea.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today reviewed the prevailing situation in four coastal districts — Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara — and the administration’s preparedness to tackle flood.

Disaster management minister Surjya Narayan Patro, who was present during the review, said the chief minister had instructed them to keep adequate stock of foodgrains, kerosene and medicines ready at vulnerable points.

He also asked to keep the boats and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force ready for rescue operation.

Revenue divisional commissioner (central) Arvind Padhee said close watch was being kept on the situation and all possible measures were taken to deal with any eventuality.

A district collector said relief teams with adequate food stock and water pouch were ready to rush aid to the marooned people. Besides, medical teams were constituted to provide medical assistance to the needy people, said an official release.