Bhubaneswar, July 30: Heavy rain for around two hours today caused severe flooding in several areas of the city.

The downpour forced residents to remain indoors, while those who had stepped out had to wait for hours before they could make their journey back home.

The situation might aggravate in the next 24 hours as the local meteorological centre has predicted heavy rainfall across the state during this period. During the two-hour long downpour, Bhubaneswar received 59.6 mm rainfall, while Cuttack got 20mm.

Like every year, Acharya Vihar was once again the worst affected area following today’s heavy rainfall. The area witnessed rainwater overflowing from the drain and submerging the roads. With drainage channel No. 4 lying choked, rainwater flowed in the area at huge force. A resident claimed to have witnessed a cattle being washed away in the rainwater.

“The situation never changes here. Every year we face a similar situation due to encroachment of drains. The authorities should take strong steps against encroachers and demolish these structures or our plight will never end,” said Ajay Charan Mohanty, a local resident.

Not only Acharya Vihar, but several other areas were also waterlogged. Places such as Jayadev Vihar, Bomikhal, Bhagabat Sandhan, Jharpada and Laxmi Sagar were also flooded.

In Cuttack, several areas remained submerged following the rain. Rainwater entered into houses in low-lying areas such as Arunoday Nagar, Pithapur and Tulsipur. The Cuttack Municipal Corporation has deployed pumps to remove water from the flooded areas. While the civic bodies battle to pump out water, if the prediction of the Met office proves true they will have a tough job in hand.

A Met official said that the low pressure was lying static over the Bay of Bengal in the northwest direction.

The impact of the low pressure will be felt over the next two or three days, but there will be heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours.

Director of the metorological centre Sarat Chandra Sahu said that heavy rainfall would lash the interior parts of the state.

“Besides, a few places in north and south Odisha will receive more than 25mm rainfall. Coastal Odisha will also get heavy rain,” said Sahu.

The Met office has also predicted that wind speed would reach up to 55kmph and warned fishermen not to venture into the sea during that period.