Fails to disseminate timely warning
Delay in establishing an advanced radar system
Minister accuses fishermen of disregarding warning
The failure to disseminate a timely warning on the prevalent inclement weather conditions has resulted in loss of lives and damages to property, where at least five fishermen were reported dead and several others missing as of yesterday afternoon.
The Meteorological Department attributed this problem to the delay in establishing an advanced radar system. The Department, following the gale storms that affected the Southern Coast in November 2011, said it was working on establishing advanced radars that would detect stormy weather conditions well in advance than the existing system.
Director General of the Meteorological Department, S.H. Kariyawasam admitted that it was too late by the time it had relayed the warning to the DMC. Kariyawasam said the delay was due to the problems in receiving the information on time. He said that the department was already looking into ways of improving their systems to avoid such incidents in future. “We are looking at ways to upgrade our system. We have requested the authorities to address the issue,” he said.
Fishing families living along the coastal areas in Dehiwela who were affected by the adverse weather protested against the authorities, calling on them to take immediate steps to rescue fisher folk missing at sea.
According to Deputy Director (Media), Disaster Management Center (DMC) Sarath Lal Kumara, the deaths of five persons including four fishermen had been confirmed by yesterday evening while 13 persons were reported injured. A further 17 fishermen were reported missing in Galle alone. The DMC was yet to receive information of the missing from other areas, he noted.
Kumara also said that 20 fishermen who were stranded mid sea were rescued by the Navy and Air Force. In addition, 24 houses were reported fully damaged while another 396 had suffered partial damages.
Minister of Disaster Management Mahinda Amaraweera said he had inquired from the Met Department regarding accusations that a timely warning had not been given to fishing communities along the coast. “The Department informed me that it had advised those conducting Naval and fishing activities to be vigilant regarding severe weather for the past several days. However, their contention is that the warning had been disregarded by some fishermen,” he said.
Amaraweera admitted the department had not issued ‘a specific severe weather advisory’ for Friday (7). The Met Department’s forecast issued at 1600 hours on Friday (7) for the following 36 hours had requested Naval and fishing communities ‘to be vigilant as deep and shallow sea areas off the coast extending from Mannar to Pottuvil via Colombo and Galle will be rough with strong southwesterly winds up to 80kmp/h’.
A ‘severe weather advisory’ was issued at 0300 hours yesterday by the Department’s Early Warning Centre requesting Naval and fishing communities to ‘refrain their activities in the deep and shallow sea areas, especially off the coast extending from Mannar to Pottuvil via Colombo, Galle and Hambantota’.
The Disaster Management Center (DMC) with the assistance of the Air Force and Navy yesterday launched a search and rescue operation along the coastal areas following severe weather conditions experienced in several parts of the country in the wee hours of yesterday.
The DMC, which is the official body to disseminate public warnings on weather related issues, said it had received a severe weather advisory from the Meteorology Department at three am. yesterday. However, DMC officials said they received the warning at a time when fishermen had already moved to the seas.
Sri Lanka Air Force Spokesperson (SLAF) Air Commodore Andrew Wijesooriya said the SLAF had flown three rescue missions from yesterday morning. Two Bell 412 helicopters had been deployed; one to the Kollupitiya and Dehiwela areas, and the other to Beruwela, he added. “The severe weather made flying very difficult, but our pilots still flew due to the urgency of the situation,” he explained.
Wijesooriya said Air Force personnel were able to pluck one injured fishermen from a capsized vessel carrying five persons off the coast of Beruwela. They were also able to alert a nearby trawler of the presence of two others in the sea, leading to their rescue, and two others had swarm to shore. Accordingly, all five persons on the boat were rescued alive, he stressed. The fisherman rescued by the Air Force was flown to Katukurunda and was currently being treated for his injuries at the Nagoda hospital, he added. Additionally, two other fishermen were rescued by the Air Force in the seas off Kollupitiya, Wijesooriya said.
“We also deployed a Y12 aircraft to Dehiwela to search for a boat which reportedly had six persons onboard that had gone missing. However, we were unable to locate it,” the Air Force spokesman said.
All aircraft had returned to their respective airfields by last evening, but were on standby to assist in further rescue operations if called upon to do so, he further said.
Navy Spokesperson Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said the Navy had deployed three ships (SLNS Sayura, SLNS Suranimala and SLNS Jayasagara) and five Fast Attack Crafts (FACs) to rescue fishermen. The vessels were those attached to the Navy’s Western and Southern Naval Commands, he added. Navy personnel from these vessels had rescued three fishermen; one in Kollupitiya and two in Beruwela, he revealed.
Naval rescue operations were still ongoing at the time this edition went to press. Police Media Spokesman SP Buddika Siriwardena said the deaths of four fishermen had been confirmed by last evening. They are from Ahungalla, Beruwela, Bentota and Galle, he added. However, the death toll was likely to rise as the number of those missing was still unclear, he further said. “Fishermen have gone out to sea from many fishing harbors, and some of those reported missing have been rescued or have made it to shore at various locations. Therefore, it is difficult at this stage to say just how many are missing,” Siriwardena explained.