Schools remained closed in four districts of Odisha on Monday as heavy rainfall triggered by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal disrupted normal life, briefly affected train services and prompted the state government to place its field machinery on high alert.The precautionary closure comes after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall across several parts of the state, with red alerts issued for three districts and warnings of continued rainfall over the next 24 hours.

Schools closed as rainfall intensifies

Authorities ordered schools to remain closed in Jagatsinghpur, Sonepur, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapara districts after the IMD warned of intense rainfall.The weather office has issued a red alert for Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall. An orange alert remains in force for 19 districts, while eight districts are under a yellow alert.The warnings come as the deep depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal moves towards the Odisha coast.

Government says there is no need to panic

As rainfall continued across several districts, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari chaired a high-level review meeting to assess preparedness.“We are expecting normal to heavy or extremely heavy rainfall during the 24 hours from this evening. Thereafter, the intensity of rainfall is likely to reduce. We are prepared to deal with the situation,” Pujari said, according to PTI.The minister said water levels in all major rivers, including the Mahanadi, remained below the danger mark and there was no immediate flood threat in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Balasore districts.“Field-level officials had been put on high alert and instructed to deploy pumps to drain water from low-lying areas in case of waterlogging,” he said.For now, the government’s focus is on preventing urban flooding and responding quickly if waterlogging develops in vulnerable areas.While officials say there is no immediate flood threat, the next 24 hours will determine how severe the impact becomes in districts under the red and orange alerts.