Letters to the Editor
View(s):Failure to use past lessons to minimise natural disasters
Many trees were uprooted by strong winds last week
This refers to the letter by Sunil G. Wijesinha titled, ‘Hit by Cyclone Ockhi: How did Met Dept miss vital weather information?’ that appeared in the Letters to the Editor column in Sunday Times on December 3.
A low pressure area which intensified into a depression while moving westward along the southern part of Sri Lanka on November 29 caused a significant disaster including the death of more than 13 people. Those who remembered the havoc caused by cyclones in December 2000 and November 1978 may have questioned whether it is possible for a depression to cause the damages that we experienced on November 29 and 30.
Those who read my article on ‘Cyclone season is close: Are we ready?’ in the Sunday Times on September 10, will realize how careless the relevant institutes and ministers who are responsible for managing natural disasters in our country are. Not only them but every person in the country has a responsibility to take steps in time to minimise natural disasters.
A depression is one step along the development path of a low pressure area turning into a cyclone. The wind speeds around the centre of a depression lie between 30 and 60 kilometres per hour while that of a cyclonic system is above 61 kilometres per hour. All these systems are accompanied by circulating winds and well developed cloud clusters. It is common for these systems to move westward or in a northwest ward direction while intensifying in the northern hemisphere. Therefore as I noted in my previous article, depressions or cyclones are capable of causing natural disasters as a result of strong winds and heavy rains in areas along their path.
It is clearly seen that most people, disaster managers and even some weather forecasters are reluctant to concentrate on an important effect of these systems — the development of many tornadoes (or water spouts over water bodies) in the active area of the systems.
Cloud clusters associated with depressions and cyclones comprising widespread multi cell or super cell cumulonimbus clouds give birth to tornadoes. Tornadoes are weather systems with a short life like 10 to 20 minutes. Their circulating winds blow with speeds more than 250 kmph. The diameter of a tornado is about 100 metres and the central pressure falls to very low values. With these characteristics, Tornadoes act like devils within the active area of depressions or cyclones causing uprooting or breaking huge trees, lifting roofs of buildings and carrying many heavy things with their strong winds. When a tornado develops over a water body, it is named ‘Water spout’ capable of sucking water plus any object from the surface of the water body and carrying them up. Lifting up a trawler (fishing boat) to heights of 15 – 20 metres is a simple act of a well-developed water spout. The situation becomes very critical when multi tornadoes or multi water spouts develop in depressions or cyclones. Not only the recent catastrophe on November 29 and 30 but earlier too there were many instances of extreme weather conditions over the country and sea area where fishermen were killed and a significant number of trees were uprooted damaging many buildings.
The sad side of managing natural disasters in our country is that many concerned do not try to learn lessons from past incidents.
As Mr. Wijesinha mentioned in his letter, there are a number of websites that provide weather predictions. They are the outputs of numerical weather prediction models. As he has hinted, we should not ignore them. They can be regarded as initial support. But the Meteorological Department observes weather parameters more frequently in the local area and therefore they should give accurate predictions on their website.
K.R.Abhayasingha Via email
Thanks to a caring RDA officer
I write to express my appreciation and gratitude to one of a rare breed– a conscientious and caring public servant.
In mid-2015 the Road Development Authority (RDA) started renovating and carpeting a road that runs past the Elders’ Home in which I live. Work continued apace and by February 2016 the road was fully carpeted, causing the volume of traffic using the road to double and treble, compared to what it had been earlier. The renovated road looked very impressive indeed but we, the elderly occupants of this Home, while certainly admiring its smooth and shining surface, felt at the same time, somewhat apprehensive and alarmed as it looked as if the new three-foot-deep drains at the sides of the road were going to be left, just as they were, uncovered.
This would make it really dangerous for all pedestrians and more so for the old and infirm (and also for small children) especially in wet weather. I had to completely give up all idea of walking to the sub-post office and the supermarket at the nearest junction as, if one had suddenly to move to the very edge of the road to avoid the heavy traffic, it would be so easy to overbalance and fall into the deep open drain.
Desperate, I made several phone-calls, first to the Kaduwela Municipal Council and then to the Road Development Authority, speaking in succession to the Director-General, the Chairman and finally to the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Dharmasena.
He sounded quite sympathetic, said he understood our difficulties and promised that he would come personally to inspect the road and try to find a solution.
Ringing me about a week later, he said the road was too narrow for a proper pavement to be constructed but that he would try to get the money passed for covering up the open drains.
A few weeks later large concrete slabs appeared and the drain on the right side of our entrance was covered about three-quarters of the way, leading to the nearest junction. I rang to thank him very much for responding positively to my complaint, assuming that the work would continue as it had begun. However months and months passed by after that without any change and about a quarter of the road side drains (a stretch requiring about 60 more slabs) still remained uncovered, after more than a year had elapsed. Assuming that the funds passed, must have been inadequate to complete the job, I gave up all hope of anything further being done but was still thankful and glad that something had been achieved; I now felt sufficiently secure to attempt the walk to and from the supermarket and sub-post office, taking extra care and walking very, very, slowly past the unfinished quarter-stretch.
Recently however, about one and a half years after the events described above, while walking down the road on Sunday, November 12, I was amazed and delighted to find that about 40 new cement slabs had been put in place, greatly reducing the hazardous section of road; it was a great surprise as I had assumed the RDA must have completely forgotten this project of one and a half years ago. An even greater surprise awaited me on Sunday, November 19, as I walked down again to the junction to buy the newspaper:- the drain along the last stretch had also been completely covered.
I am truly amazed, delighted and thrilled to have met with such care and consideration from a Government Institution like the RDA.
Mr. Dharmasena, the Public Relations Officer, deserves the highest praise for his personal care and concern – his actions have brought credit to the whole Authority for which he works.
Damayanti Peiris Via email
Introduce creative programmes for prisoners
Every day many wrong doers in the country are sentenced to imprisonment by courts of law.They may be either long- term or short-term punishments. Whatever they may be, the prisoners should be provided with basic facilities together with security.
Millions of rupees must be spent to run the machinery which includes salaries and welfare of the prison officers, maintenance of buildings and holding special programmes in keeping with international standards.
At present opinions are expressed against this, as it is believed that these tasks are carried out with the taxes paid by the general public.
It is obvious that most of the prisoners are young, exceptionally clever and creative, but their energy is not utilised properly although a few programmes are conducted in Prisons to make use of their labour.
It would be advantageous for the country, if the authorities introduce creative programmes to make the maximum use of the time, energy and labour of the prisoners productively.
Kumari Weerasooriya Polgolla