Six Killed As Mahanadi Floods Five Coastal Districts Of State Rajaram Satapathy | TNN Bhubaneswar: Thousands of people on Friday fled their homes to safety as the Mahanadi river system flooded five coastal districts of Orissa. Six people have died so far and panic migration continued following a state government warning that water level could rise further. Worse, the Hirakud reservoir, full to the brim, would release more water from Chhattisgarh to the Mahanadi from midnight into Saturday morning. Official reports said the floods have affected five lakh people in 2,606 villages and nine towns in 15 districts. Over 6,000 houses have collapsed. The situation is comparable to the 1982 floods when 15.84 lakh cusecs of water overflowed from Mahanadi near Cuttack, said a government official. The government said around 27,000 people had been evacuated from low lying areas of Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Bhadrak to cyclone shelters, school and college buildings. More than 60 free kitchens are providing them with food. Since educational institutions were declared closed, hundreds of teachers and government officials were re-engaged for helping in rescue operations. An official release said the flood situation could turn grim and asked people to leave low lying areas.