Administrative disaster?

• Media takes Met Department to task over failure to sound warning in time
• Minister promises solutions even though inadequate equipment and employees remain unaddressed since 2011

By Uditha Jayasinghe

Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera’s attempt to calm stormy waters by promising a transparent inquiry into the delayed reaction of the Met Department yesterday ended in a cyclone of words with the media.

Amaraweera had called for a press conference with Met Department officials, Disaster Management Centre employees and himself to explain the actions that were taken to assist people since inclement weather struck the country on Friday night.

He strived to drive home the point that all assistance had been given to afflicted families with families of 48 dead fishermen being provided Rs. 15,000 each, packets of dry rations and Rs. 100,000 in compensation. He also took pains to emphasise that fishermen were given 3,140 life jackets as a measure to save their lives even though it did not come under the mandate of his Ministry.

But all overtures were in vain as the media peppered officials with questions and demanded to know who was responsible for the late warning and why it was not disseminated effectively. Particular stress was given to why the Met Department did not declare an emergency situation till Saturday morning and why it was not sent out to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) to be distributed via SMS.

“We were not entirely sure that the weather would deteriorate into a storm. Therefore at around two in the afternoon the Met Department officials had a meeting and decided to issue a forecast. This was then promptly sent to the DMC as well as all media organisations. We expected that the news of winds at 80 kilometres an hour would reach the fishermen,” Director S.R. Jayasekera said.

His statement roused a storm of protest from the media, which pointed out that the Met Department failed to highlight the forecast as a warning and did not clearly state the seriousness of the situation. Journalists argued that the DMC’s failure to pick up the forecast and relay it as a serious warning was also a major reason for fishermen not understanding the enormity of the situation.

Met Department officials also admitted that they were understaffed and did not have the capacity to effectively disseminate information to the media. Even though the department is supposed to have 34 scientists, it has only 17; instead of the 208 technical officers, it has only 131; and only 16 of the 31 management assistants needed. Amaraweera admitted that the staffing was an issue as hiring Met officials was not under the preview of the Minister but rather under the State administrative arm.

Equipment that was promised to the Met Department after the 2011 November disaster has still not been set up, Amaraweera admitted, despite a Cabinet paper being approved.

Nonetheless, the Minister was quick to highlight that the lack of equipment could not be faulted in this instance. Journalists also pointed out that radio equipment distributed to radio and TV stations under a grant were also not utilised by the Met Department.

The press conference, which lasted over three hours, ended with the Minister admitting that dissemination of emergency warnings at the Met Department needed to be upgraded.