Burma knew of cyclone nearly a week before it hit

by Mungpi

Tuesday, 06 May 2008 00:00

New Delhi - The Burmese government first learned that a cyclone was brewing in the Bay of Bengal nearly a week before it slammed into Burma, killing tens of thousands, but did not issue a proper public warning until hours before it hit. The Indian Meteorology Department said it dispatched an initial advisory to the Burmese authorities on April 26 about the cyclone, two days before the cyclone actually formed in the Bay of Bengal, and nearly a week before it struck land. B P Yadav, Director of the Indian Meteorological Department, said, "We updated the Myanmar [Burmese] authorities every three hours and on April 30 we provided the detail route, speed and locations of where the cyclone will hit." Though Burma's Meteorology and Hydrology department posted a warning on its official website on April 27, the information was not widely disseminated. The department said that a cyclone was forming in the Bay of Bengal and was heading towards Burma. State-run media did not issue a cyclone alert until the afternoon of Friday, May 2. The storm first struck the Irrawaddy Delta in late afternoon Friday and swept into Rangoon early Saturday. Many Rangoon residents said they missed the announcement, broadcast on state-run TV and radio, which usually runs state propaganda. "Though my daughters said they knew about the announcement, I was not aware of the cyclone because I am not interested in watching TV, and there was no public announcement in the locality," said a Rangoon resident whose house was smashed by a falling tree. A leading Thai meteorological expert said the failure to issue a timely warning may have costs thousands of innocent lives. Dr. Smith Dharmasaroja, chairman of Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre, said the Burmese government's response was insufficient. "The government must issue an early warning and send teams to evacuate villagers in the disaster-prone zones as a preparation for the cyclone," Dr. Smith told Mizzima. Dr. Smith famously predicted that a tsunami would strike Thailand long before the deadly Indian Ocean waves of December 2004, but was widely ignored. While it is important for the government to issue an announcement, the warnings must be properly disseminated, Dr. Smith said. The authorities must also take precautionary steps, including relocating villagers in the path of the predicted cyclone to higher ground. He said that in Thailand, the government has created an early warning mechanism for several kinds of natural disasters, such as cyclones and tropical storms. The process uses weather data from satellites, and disseminates warnings through the media in the form of text messages on mobile phones and announcements through warning towers along coastal areas. The disaster mechanism includes sending relief teams to the disaster-prone zones and moving local residents to safer places and to cyclone shelters. "I believe the Burmese government also does not have proper coastal radars to detect that a cyclone is approaching. That's why they are not able to prepare in time," Dr. Smith added. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok said it also issued an advisory on Cyclone Nargis to the Burmese authorities. The ADPC has been working with governments in the region for 20 years and helping them prepare against natural disasters such as cyclones. "It is up to the government how they respond to the disaster," said an official at the ADPC, declining to further comment on the way the Burmese junta prepared for the cyclone. Meanwhile, US First Lady Laura Bush on Monday also accused the Burmese junta of failing to issue an early warning. "Although they were aware of the threat, Burma's state-run media failed to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path," Mrs. Bush said during a press conference in Washington. Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, former Secretary of the Indian Meteorological Society, said that  cyclones usually take at least two days to form and early detection and dissemination of early warnings would help reduce the devastation and save lives. "The Cyclone Nargis originated from the South China Sea, and we detected it before it was properly taking shape in the Bay of Bengal and issued an advisory to the Burmese authorities," Gupta said. < Prev   Next >