Bhubaneswar, July 20 - The flash floods that were triggered by heavy monsoon rains continued to play havoc in Orissa with the death toll climbing to 36 on Monday and officials rescuing hundreds of victims.

The heavy downpour from last week has flooded most of the state's rivers and streams. Officials said the flood waters caused breaches on embankments and roads as a result of which several areas in eight of the state's 30 districts remained cut off.

'So far, 36 rain related deaths have been reported,' state's Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patro told IANS. 'While many of them died due to drowning, some of them have died after their mud houses collapsed,' he said.

'The districts affected by the flash floods are Boudh, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Koraput, Rayagada, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Jagatsinghpur,' he said. 'The southern part of the state has been worst hit where hundreds of villages have remained marooned.'

'ODRAF (Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force) personnel have rescued hundreds of victims and moved them to safer places after flood waters entered their homes in Bhanjanagar and Belaguntha areas of Ganjam district and some areas of Nayagarh district,' Patro said.