The India Meteorological Department has put six Odisha districts on red alert — Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Angul — forecasting extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours.
Thunderstorms and lightning are also expected, and the IMD has warned that the rain could cause landslides in hilly areas and flash floods in low-lying regions.
The alert follows the intensification of a Low Pressure Area over the West Bengal coast into a Well-marked Pressure Area over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Odisha-West Bengal coasts, recorded at 5:30 am IST on Sunday.
Fishermen have been advised against venturing into the deep sea or adjoining coastal areas for the next four days because of rough sea conditions.
A red alert has also been issued for Central Maharashtra this week amid heavy rainfall activity across several states.
(Image: McKay Savage (CC BY 2.0))
