We must all take responsibility
In the days following the storms, as those affected started to rebuild their homes and hearts, the SA Weather Service set to work listing the lessons learnt and opportunities for an improved service.
The extreme weather conditions experienced on 9 and 10 October have plunged disaster readiness into the spotlight.
In Gauteng, parts of Joburg, Ekurhuleni and Mogale City experienced heavy downpours, strong winds and hail. Elsewhere in the country, parts of the North West Province, the eastern Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal were also affected.
Hail ranging in size from golf to tennis balls were reported in Krugersdorp and there were two sightings of tornadoes. The effects on communities were devastating – properties were damaged and lives were lost.
In the days following the storms, as those affected started to rebuild their homes and hearts, the SA Weather Service set to work listing the lessons learnt and opportunities for an improved service. In a media statement, the service admitted that while warnings were issued ‘in time’ and the forecasting system ‘did well’, ‘critical infrastructure for disaster risk reduction and improved analysis of storms, failed us (of the five radar we needed, only two were available)’, read the statement.
The importance of technology that detects and warns of weather conditions and ensuring the public is aware of the impact weather conditions can have, are lessons learnt from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The CBC News article said it was further learnt that even if more people had been informed, there were no warnings, as a limited tsunami warning system existed in the Pacific Ocean only. This too has now changed, with new systems to detect and warn of tsunamis installed around the world.
While the age-old cliché, ‘closing the stable door after the horse has bolted’ applies, it is commendable that action was taken for the future.
Likewise, it is commendable that the SA Weather Service jumped to outline the opportunities for an improved service in the days following the extreme weather conditions. The service said it urgently required investment in infrastructure enhancement and that delivery platforms to communicate weather warnings needed to be ‘beefed up dramatically’.
The development of a free access web portal with a live information feed, delivering localised products and services through local TV and radio stations and the creation of a YouTube channel to issue warnings and educate, are among the plans to use a wide range of dissemination channels. The service said a project has also been initiated to develop a revamped SA Weather Service APP.
These plans show the service is serious about ensuring its warnings reach all who need them. But, we citizens have a major role to play too.
It has been found that citizens wait to see if extreme weather conditions develop before they adhere to the warnings. This is according to Dan Kottlowski, a meteorologist for weather media company, AccuWeather, in an article, Psychology of warnings: Why do people ignore important weather alerts? published in February.
Sociological evidence further points out that people ‘feel silly for taking shelter’, says senior vice president of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions, Mike Smith. He added that often weather warnings need to come from someone people trust and that it helps when they come from more than one source.
Just as the SA Weather Service is acting on lessons learnt from the extreme weather conditions experienced this October, we citizens must recognise our responsibility to react to, abide by and spread the word about weather warnings.
Complacency serves to put all our lives at risk.
