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Havoc in South as storm kills six fishermen; 16 missing
View(s):Angry fisherfolk say Met Dept. warning came too late
Strong winds that lashed several areas off the west coast and incessant rains left a trail of havoc, death and destruction yesterday. The worst hit were the fishermen out at sea. At least six were killed as their boats were swept away by 80-kmph winds at mid sea. The dead were from Balapitiya, Dehiwela and Beruwela. Air Force and Navy rescue operations saved the lives of more than 20 fishermen, but 16 were reported missing.
With a pre-dawn storm causing havoc yesterday, two fishing boats are seen colliding with each other and one of the boats sinking. The men on the boats were rescued.
Many of the rescued fishermen had clung to the sides of their overturned boats and waited for help. The tragedy hit them because there was no warning before they went to sea, relatives said. The alleged inaction led to protests by families of the fishermen. They blocked roads and rail tracks in Dehiwela demanding immediate action to save the fishermen at sea.
Dehiwela fisherman Sampath Perera who was recused by an Air Force helicopter yesterday said he had gone out to sea around 5 a.m. yesterday. “There were 19 boats but we had not received any warning of adverse weather conditions by that time,” he said.
The Meteorology Department’s Director General, S H Kariawasam, however, said they had issued several warnings but admitted that the forecast made on Friday afternoon to the fisherfolk and the Navy did not anticipate deterioration in the weather to the extent it developed into later in the night and early yesterday.
“We issued a forecast around noon on Friday. We told the fishermen to be vigilant for windy weather conditions but at that time we did not expect the conditions to worsen to this extent,” he said.
A general weather forecast had been issued by the Meteorology Department around 4 p.m. on Friday. Fishermen and the Navy were told to refrain from activities in the deep and shallow sea areas especially off the coast extending from Mannar to Pottuvil via Colombo, Galle and Hambantota.
The warning that winds with the speeds of upto 90 kilometres an hour could lash these areas was given around 2 a.m. yesterday, the Met Chief said. However, fisherman said that by then most of them had gone out to sea and the warning had come too late for them. The worst affected areas were Dehiwela, Beruwela, Balapitiya, Hikkaduwa and Galle.
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