Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain triggered by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal battered south Odisha on Wednesday, inundating low-lying areas, disrupting transport links, damaging houses and triggering landslides, even as the system moved towards Kalingapatnam between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur ahead of landfall.With more heavy to extremely heavy rainfall forecast till Thursday, the state govt deployed 33 ODRAF teams and put district administrations on high alert. As a precautionary measure, more than 5,000 people were shifted to safer places in parts of Gajapati and Ganjam districts.According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the system centred around 30 km south-southwest of Kalingapatnam and around 160 km southwest of Gopalpur on Wednesday evening. Moving west-northwestwards at a speed of 7 kmph, it was expected to cross the north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coast between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur, close to Kalingapatnam, within a few hours.IMD director-general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy spells would continue across parts of Odisha till Thursday under the influence of the system. Wind speeds of 55-65 kmph gusting up to 75 kmph were likely during landfall. He said rainfall along coastal districts would gradually decrease from Thursday afternoon, though interior Odisha could continue to receive heavy rain till Friday.Koraput received heavy rainfall. Similiguda recorded 230 mm rain in 24 hours ending Wednesday morning, while Jeypore logged 160 mm. More than 16 locations across Odisha recorded over 100 mm of rainfall during the same period.During the day, Nayagarh received the highest rainfall at 60.2 mm, followed by Gopalpur at 40.4 mm.Reports of waterlogging, traffic disruption and localised landslides were received from several south Odisha districts. A landslide was reported from Patrapur block in Gajapati district, while heavy rain inundated low-lying areas in many locations.In view of the forecast, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed the situation at Lok Seva Bhavan and directed officials to ensure “zero casualty”, the state’s guiding principle during natural disasters.“The safety of lives and livelihood must remain our top priority,” Majhi said, directing departments to coordinate closely with district administrations and shift residents from vulnerable and waterlogged areas to safer locations, wherever required.Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said the administration was fully prepared to tackle any emergency arising out of heavy rainfall. ODRAF teams have been deployed in vulnerable districts and are on standby for rescue and relief operations.A total of 33 ODRAF teams have been stationed across the state, including six each in Ganjam and Koraput, three each in Gajapati, Malkangiri and Rayagada, two in Kalahandi and one in Balangir. Nine additional teams based at Chhatrapur have been kept in reserve.A red warning for extremely heavy rainfall was issued for Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri on Wednesday. IMD said Nabarangpur would continue under red warning on Thursday.An orange warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued for Bargarh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts, while a yellow warning remains in force for several other districts till Friday.Authorities have also maintained the ban on fishing activities. Local cautionary signal no. 3 has been hoisted at all ports along the Odisha coast due to rough sea conditions.The water resources department is monitoring river and reservoir levels round-the-clock, while district administrations have been asked to keep emergency operation centres functional, stock essential relief materials and keep rescue equipment ready for deployment.Officials said weather conditions are expected to improve after Sept 25 as the system weakens over land.