Bhubaneswar: The Army has been put on alert as Orissa geared up to face a major flood in the Mahanadi River system, affecting the coastal belt following heavy rains in the catchment areas of the tributaries.

"We are anticipating 14 lakh cusecs of water to pass the Naraj delta head near Cuttack city by tonight (August 29) and all measures are being taken to tackle the situation, special relief commissioner R Balakrishnan said.

The Army has been requested to standby for rescue and relief operations if the need arose, he said.

The districts likely to be affected are Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur and Puri and respective collectors have been alerted and control rooms set up to monitor the situation.

Boats have been readied and food materials stocked in different places known to be vulnerable to floods, he said.

Periodic warnings are being issued over the radio alerting the people living in low-lying areas to shift to safer places.

Balakrishnan said the present situation was similar to the major floods, which occurred in the Mahanadi system in 2001 when 14 lakh cusecs of water passed the delta head.

PTI