By Six districts in Odisha — Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Angul — have been placed under a red alert by the India Meteorological Department, which expects extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours.
The IMD has also forecast thunderstorms and lightning in these areas, warning that the rain could set off landslides in hilly terrain and flash floods in low-lying areas.
The alert comes after a Low Pressure Area over the West Bengal coast intensified into a Well-marked Pressure Area over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Odisha-West Bengal coasts, as recorded at 5:30 am IST on Sunday.
Fishermen have been advised against venturing into the deep sea or nearby coastal waters for the next four days due to rough sea conditions.
A red alert has also been issued for Central Maharashtra this week, as heavy rainfall continues across several states.
(Image: McKay Savage (CC BY 2.0))
