Orissa famine of 1866
| Odisha famine of 1866 Na'Anka Durbhikshya ନ'ଅଙ୍କ ଦୁର୍ଭିକ୍ଷ | |
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A 1907 map of Odisha, now Odisha, shown as the southwestern region of Bengal Province. Coastal Balasore district was one of the worst-hit areas in the Odisha famine of 1866. | |
| Country | India |
| Location | Odisha |
| Coordinates | 20°23′54″N 84°24′09″E / 20.398464°N 84.402366°E |
| Period | 1866-1868 |
| Total deaths | 4-5 million |
| Causes | Drought |
| Relief | INR 9,500,000 |
| Net food imports | 40,000 tons of Food grains |
| Effect on demographics | Approximately 33% of the population died |
| Consequences | The famine also served to awaken Indians about the effects of British Raj. |
| Preceded by | Guntur famine of 1832 |
| Succeeded by | The Great Indian famine of 1876 |
The Orissa famine of 1866 affected the east coast of India from Madras northwards, an area covering 180,000 miles and containing a population of 47,500,000; the impact of the famine, however, was greatest in the region of Orissa, now Odisha, which at that time was quite isolated from the rest of India. In Odisha, the total number of deaths as a result of the famine was at least a million, roughly one third of the population.