Lack of modern equipment prevented accurate forecast of inclement weather

6 June 2024 10:36 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 8 Bookmark

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By Chamil Rupasinghe

Lack of proper equipment prevented accurate forecast of the recent inclement weather conditions, geologist Professor Athula Senaratne said yesterday.

“It would have been possible to issue prior warning of 400mm rains which some parts of the nation experienced during the past few days if the necessary equipment was available,” Professor Senaratne told journalists in Kandy.

He also said Sri Lanka does not have proper equipment to measure rainfall.

Comments - 8

Rip Winkle Thursday, 06 June 2024 11:04 AM

Why do we need to spend on such equipment when institutions like the IBM's 'The Weather Company', the 'WMO' and several other international weather monitoring agencies exist? Sri Lanka is already a member of WMO. It's all about money and commissions, right?

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Prem Thursday, 06 June 2024 11:41 AM

Who is the minister responsible for this? There is a great opportunity to make a commission out of the purchase, don’t miss it! (This is the Sri Lanka’s way!!)

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Suhada malli Thursday, 06 June 2024 11:49 AM

Has free education fathered by late CWW K failed us as a nation? We have students who get the best AL results going to the best govt Unis in this country and then many of them end up serving in our public service. A service where efficiency is very low, corruption and lack of accountability is high and customer service is poor. As a private sector tax payer, I am very sad to see our mother Lanka been served so poorly by its own citizens. No point blaming the 225 1 only because at the end of the day we are the ones who vote those fellows also to be our rulers. We have failed ourselves, and as a result we have collectively failed the nation. It is this frustration that will breed genuine non political Aragalayas in our hearts.

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Steve Thursday, 06 June 2024 12:21 PM

Don't blame the equipment. Admit incompetence.

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Be Fair Thursday, 06 June 2024 01:55 PM

Sheer lethargy, incompetence, inefficiency of the Employees of the respective Ministry and Dept. Nothing else. Salary: that they will strike

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Gerry Thursday, 06 June 2024 02:49 PM

You have reported the view of a geologist whose training and profession is to deal with that in the ground, not the weather. What do meteorologists and atmospheric physicists who are qualified in this area say?

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P Kunchithapathan Thursday, 06 June 2024 03:13 PM

This statement by geologist Professor Athula Senaratne is both hilarious and tragic: "What have they been doing all these decades without requesting proper infrastructure to forecast the country's weather? It is indeed a national tragedy, as so many lives have been lost annually, and the country has faced immense damage. It took an appalling amount of time to declare that the Meteorological Department is hindered by inadequate equipment and facilities, making it difficult to provide even near-accurate predictions to prevent impending disasters. Sadly, this government prioritizes IMF assistance and neglects urgent needs. They are in a great hurry to import super-luxurious vehicles while natural disasters occur almost daily. Shame on the government.

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Sambo Thursday, 06 June 2024 07:23 PM

I am quite sure no government that ruled since 1948 ever took the trouble to update the weather laboratory. Still forecasting with very ancient equipment.

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