Two women ride through rain on their two-wheeler in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

The eastern parts of the state, including Supaul, Purnea and Bhagalpur, could experience heavy rainfall on Monday under the impact of cyclone Hudhud.

India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s director-general L.S. Rathore had told reporters in Delhi after Hudhud’s landfall in Visakhapatnam around 12noon that Bihar would receive fairly widespread rainfall till October 14. But based on the observations made through Doppler weather radar in the city, the local Met office confined its warning of heavy rainfall to only the eastern parts of the state.

Top officials in state disaster management department appeared relaxed after the fresh forecast from the Patna Met office. The department’s special secretary Anirudh Kumar told The Telegraph in the evening that there was nothing to panic.

“Bihar would not be affected much by Hudhud. There would be light rainfall in the state because the cyclone would not move upward from Jharkhand. Its impact would not be as severe as Phailin. There is no need to worry,” said Anirudh.

Repeated attempts to contact the principal secretary of the department, Vyasji, proved futile.

The district magistrates of Purnea and Bhagalpur did not sound stressed either. Purnea district magistrate Rajendra Kumar said: “I am in a rural area of the district to look after a law and order issue, but my additional district magistrate is on the job. However, according to the conditions here, I can say the weather conditions are unlikely to be severe.”

B.P. Yadav, the district magistrate of Bhagalpur, claimed that a general communication regarding the possibility of heavy rainfall was made to them by the disaster management department. “We are following the standard operating procedure to tackle any severe weather condition. But in my personal opinion, I don’t think it would be as severe as Phailin,” said Yadav.

As very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud made landfall in Visakhapatnam around 12noon on Sunday, the skies over Patna and most other parts of the state turned cloudy. Intermittent rain followed. Weathermen claimed that heavy rainfall was not recorded anywhere in Bihar on Sunday but places like Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and many other districts in the eastern parts of the state received light rainfall.

R.K. Giri, a meteorologist at Patna meteorological centre, said: “North-eastern and south-eastern parts of the state are likely to receive isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall on Monday. Winds would be blowing at an average speed of 25 to 30kmph. By then, Hudhud would turn into a deep depression. The effect of Hudhud is likely to be over in Bihar by the evening of October 15.”