Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa yesterday admitted that Sri Lanka did not have the technology to predict disasters accurately, especially in the face of climate change.
“The Meteorological Department can predict that rains would occur in certain regions, but they cannot give an accurate measure of it”, the minister said as he addressed the weekly Cabinet briefing yesterday.
He explained that the government had been working on a programme with the World Bank and the Japanese government to get a Doppler radar system and satellite technology which would give more accurate climate information.
“We have started negotiations with Japan to allow us to access one of their satellites which orbits this region and to provide us with satellite technology,”he said and stressed that as disasters increase in frequency the government would need to be prepared to spend more money on such technology.
Responding to questions on why the government’s early warning system for disasters was not effective, he said,
“In Sri Lanka we have a problem with quick reporting and warning of disasters. Even when warned people do not like to leave their homes.
“We should at least have a law to force people to come out of their houses in such times,”the Minister said.
He also explained that the government had to reach out for basic supplies during the disaster as the Disaster Management Ministry did not have the capacity to stock up on supplies and in the event of emergencies they receive funds from the Treasury to purchase the emergency relief items and such.
Metrological Department Director Sarath Premlal in the meantime explained that even if they were to have the technology, the accurate amount of rainfall could only be predicted once the clouds have formed.
“We have numerical weather predictions and model them to predict rains but we cannot tell people that it would cause floods,” he said.
Co-Cabinet spokesperson Dayasiri Jayasekara said that while the government had identified the disaster prone areas, the issue was not having a proper evacuation plan for the people to follow.