Bhubaneswar: Heavy rainfall in Odisha has triggered widespread flooding, leading to several harrowing, near-fatal incidents in Dhenkanal, Rayagada, and Sonpur districts. In Dhenkanal district, a JCB excavator was swept off a flooded bridge by powerful currents of the overflowing Ram River near Marthapur Panchayat. The operator, who had been traveling from Marthapur village toward Odhana, ignored warnings from local villagers and attempted to cross the submerged structure. Both the Ram and Brahmani rivers have overflowed their banks, inundating villages including Marthapur, Odhana, and areas near Gengutia in Kandhagao. Similarly in Rayagada district’s Kolnara block, a youth risked his life to save two people stranded in the swollen Nagavali River near Imaliguda village.