Choppy sea today nearly swallowed many villages while heavy rains battered the coastal belt amidst squally wind conditions as the deep depression over Bay of Bengal made its landfall near Chandbali on Tuesday night. Hundreds of villagers were evacuated while thousands were marooned by the surging tidal waves in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts. The deep depression moved in a north-westerly direction and made a landfall at Chandbali. There will be little respite for the next one-two days. The system is likely to intensify further and trigger extremely heavy rains. Wind speeds reaching 55-65 kmph were experienced along and off the coast and would continue for the next 24 hours. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea. Large-scale tidal ingress wreaked havoc in the seaside villages of Mahakalpada and Rajnagar blocks of Kendrapara district and Ersama block in Jagatsinghpur district. Saline embankments caved in at several places. Normal life across the State, particularly the northern parts and coastal regions, were affected as rains accompanied with strong winds lashed the regions for the second consecutive day. Paradip recorded the highest rainfall of 16 cm during the day. Heavy to very heavy rainfall were recorded over catchments of Mahanadi, Baitarani, Brahmani and Bansadhara rivers, which have shown rising trends under the impact.