The India Meteorological Department has placed six Odisha districts — Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Angul — under a red alert, forecasting extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours.
The department has also warned of thunderstorms and lightning, cautioning that the rain could lead to landslides in hilly areas and flash floods in low-lying regions.
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 of 5:30 am IST on Sunday, triggering the alert.
Fishermen have been told to avoid venturing into the deep sea and adjoining coastal areas for the next four days because of rough sea conditions.
The IMD has separately issued a red alert for Central Maharashtra, as heavy rainfall activity continues across multiple states this week.
(Image: McKay Savage (CC BY 2.0))
