Natural disasters hamper socio - economic growth

World Meteorological Day:

COLOMBO: Ninety per cent of natural disasters are weather, climate and water related, Meteorology Department Director G. B. Samarasinghe said.

“Socio-economic growth in developing countries are severely hampered due to such disasters, just because enormous amount of money that could be allocated for development is spent on rehabilitation and reconstruction instead,” he said in a release to mark World Meteorological Day which fell yesterday.

“During 1980-2007, these disasters have claimed 1.2 million lives costing US$ 1.2 trillion to economy.

“In Sri Lanka during 2007 and 2006, 65 per cent and 62 per cent of total spent on rehabilitation and reconstruction are for floods, while droughts dominated second place claiming eight percent and seven per cent,” Samarasinghe said.

The director said although human beings have been adversely affected by natural disasters since time immemorial, the increasing trend of extreme events and exploding population growth are now demanding more attention to this issue, in view of the security of lives and property.

“There is no way to prevent natural hazards, but the only way out is to take precautionary actions.

For this, understanding of the phenomenon is necessary whereby prognostic tools could be derived to help the world population. These need, accurate and extensive networks of observations, both local and trans-boundary, as weather does not have any boundary,” he said.

It is through the observations and forecasts based on these observations that emergency managers and policy makers develop mitigating as well as precautionary and preparedness strategies, Samarasinghe said agriculture, transport (land, air, marine), energy, construction, water resource management, health and environment sectors are highly dependant on weather.

In order to warn in advance the public on impending disasters (thunderstorm, tornado, cyclone, flood etc), as well as to develop plans to efficiently utilise finite earth resources, it is extremely important to have observations of present situation.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) points out that five to 10 per cent times the investments to National Meteorological Service could be reaped as yield by provision of accurate forecasts, he said.

The WMO every year on March 23, its 188 members and the International Meteorological community celebrate World Meteorological Day, commemorating the entry-into-force on that day in 1950 of the WMO Convention creating the Organization. The theme for this year is “Observing Our Planet for a Better Future:.

The Department of Meteorology will commemorate this event on March 25 with a seminar on the theme with the participation of school teachers, and representatives of volunteer organisations and individuals who observe the Meteorological parameters in various parts of the country and send it to Meteorology Department.