India, July 30 -- The Odisha Water Resources Department has warned that the flood discharge in the Mahanadi river system is expected to peak at 9.5 lakh cusecs at the Mundali barrage by Thursday evening, prompting heightened vigilance in several downstream districts.

Engineer-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department, Dillip Kumar Rout, said the flood situation is being closely monitored and described the expected peak as the largest flood event in the Mahanadi basin this monsoon season, though it is likely to remain a medium-level flood.

"At 6 a.m., around 8 lakh cusecs of floodwater was passing through the Mundali barrage in Cuttack. The discharge remained steady at about 8.13 lakh cusecs for nearly four hours. By noon, it had incre...