# Odisha evacuates 2.37 lakh as heavy rain, floods continue 2026-08-16T14:03:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets The Odisha government evacuated over 2.37 lakh people to safety as heavy rain and flooding continued for a second day, with the IMD sounding a red alert for several districts. The Times of India reports that Chief Secretary Anu Garg cancelled leave for all government employees and deployed three senior IAS officers to worst-hit Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur. Around 90 rescue teams, including ODRAF, NDRF and Fire Services teams, have been deployed in vulnerable areas. Odisha TV reports that Keonjhar district closed all schools and anganwadi centres on Monday as a precaution. The district administration also postponed a public grievance hearing. Times Now adds that around 400 students, including 150 girls, are stranded at a government residential school in Kendrapara after the Brahmani River exceeded safe levels, the girls are being shifted to another school in Aul using motorboats. According to the Chief Secretary, fresh flooding has affected 5.15 lakh people in 947 villages across 49 blocks. Odisha recorded 953 mm of rainfall between June and August 16, about 27% above normal. The IMD said the low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is likely to concentrate into a depression within 24 hours. Heavy rain is forecast for three days from August 16. ## Coverage - odishatv.in - thehindu.com - timesnownews.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T22:16:01+00:00. Tags: Anu Garg, Baitarani River, Indian Meteorological Department, Keonjhar, Odisha Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/odisha-evacuates-2-37-lakh-as-heavy-rain-triggers-floods-in-5-districts/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/odisha-evacuates-2-37-lakh-as-heavy-rain-triggers-floods-in-5-districts/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/