The spectre of flood is gone with the Met office forecasting brighter weekend ahead for most part of the state.

The state disaster management department has put the toll at six during the two days of heavy rain on Sunday and Monday as cyclone Phailin crossed the state after landfall in Gopalpur on Saturday night.

Ashish Sen, director, IMD, Patna said while the weather conditions in south Bihar had improved, north Bihar would also witness an improvement within a couple of days.

“The weather condition in south Bihar is clear and no more rain is expected. In north Bihar, it will take one more day for the weather conditions to improve and things are expected to be fine by Friday. Conditions in other parts of the state are also coming back to normal and the weather will remain stable until next Tuesday. However, there is an indication of a depression formation towards the end of this month. We will have a clear idea after next Tuesday,” Sen said.

On the other hand, the disaster management department officials heaved a sigh of relief as heavy rainfall was not reported on Wednesday. “The death toll in the state because of the rough weather conditions rests at six. Of them, four are from Vaishali district and two belong to Madhepura,” an officer-on-special duty-rank officer with the department said.

The official added that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) members had been put on an alert. “The NDRF teams have been put on an alert but there is nothing to worry about at present. If needed, they will be sent to anywhere in a crisis situation. But the department is certain that there is no flood scare in any part of the state until now,” the official pointed out.

Officials at the state control room under the disaster management department said that the state had one battalion (around 600 men) of the NDRF with its headquarters in Bihta, around 40km west of Patna.

“Some teams were sent to Odisha too in the wake of the cyclone. When it comes to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), their number lies at 250 at present and more men are being recruited. Soon, the SDRF will have its own full battalion,” an official at the control room said.

Officials of the state water resources department too confirmed that there was no chance of floods in Patna at present.

“There is no chance of floods in the state as a whole. If one comes to the major rivers, Ganga is on the rise near Kahalgaon but is 1.4 metres below the danger mark. The Kosi is showing a waning tendency and so is the Gandak. The Sone is steady with no rise in water level. Bagmati is showing a rising trend at the Haya Ghat area in Darbhanga but is 4 metres less than the danger mark. The Punpun is also showing a rising trend and is 90cm above the danger mark near Arwal district but is not alarming. At present, there is no flood scare in the state and the department is keeping a close eye on the situation,” Arvind Kumar Singh, the water resources department public relations officer, said.