Several areas in Odisha received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours under the influence of a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, an official said on Friday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow warning of light to moderate rain with thundershowers and lightning in 18 districts of Odisha, including the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Friday.

The local weather office said that extremely heavy rainfall was recorded in at least six places - Telkoi in Keonjhar district (182.6 mm), Banki in Cuttack district (182 mm), Gudvella in Bolangir district (139.8 mm), Pipili in Puri district (122 mm), Champua in Keonjhar district (120.6 mm) and Deogaon in Bolangir district (107 mm) Khurda town received 88 mm rainfall followed by Hirakud (87.8), Nabarangpur (81), Keonjhar (70.6), Puri (69.6), Bhubaneswar (63.8), and Titlagarh (60.8) till 8.30 AM of Friday.

As per the forecast, the districts likely to be affected by the heavy rainfall are Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Angul, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Kandhamal.

The Met Office said that the low pressure is active over the northwest Bay of Bengal adjoining the Odisha and West Bengal coasts. The system is likely to move in the west-northwest direction for the next two to three days towards North Odisha-North Chhattisgarh.

The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20 cm) is likely at one or two places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Balangir, and Nuapada during the next 24 hours.

It also said heavy rainfall (7 to 11cm) may also occur at one or two places in Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Boudh, Sonepur, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh.

Meanwhile, Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner has told the all district administrations to be on alert and warned of temporary water logging in low-lying areas, poor visibility during intense spells of rain, and traffic congestion in urban areas.

The SRC has also said landslides are also likely in vulnerable hilly areas in Malkangiri, Koraput, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, and Kandhamal districts.

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