Met Department submits report on disastrous weather to Minister

The Meteorological Department submitted a report to the Minister of Disaster Management Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday on the weather forecasts in the past few days.

The Minister had instructed the Ministry’s Secretary and the Director General of the Meteorological Department to submit a report within three days on the Department’s failure to forecast Friday’s catastrophic weather.

The Meteorological Department is often blamed for inefficiency in weather forecasting despite modernisation in recent times.

The Department is being criticised for its failure to forecast the adverse weather that caused havoc in Southern coastal areas on 26 November.

The heavy rains and gale force winds blew across the Southern coast killed 19 people and injured many more. Around 43 people have gone missing while 22,616 people from 5,220 families were displaced in Galle and Matara districts due to the sudden gale and gush of rain.

Among the people went missing were 30 fishermen from Kapparathota in Weligama. At least 10 bodies of the missing fishermen have been found by yesterday.

A timely forecast could have prevented the fishermen venturing into the sea ahead of the bad weather, the residents of the affected districts say.

In Matara and Galle districts 623 houses were fully damaged and another 4,518 houses were partially damaged.

Electricity supply has not been still reinstated in some areas. Reports say a severe shortage of kerosene is experienced in some areas. (Colombo Page)