Pointe Xpress:
A positive outcome of last week’s unusual storm was a government decision which will give meteorologists an opportunity to improve their skills .
This is the result of an emergency meeting that took place on Friday between the head of the Met Office, Dale Destin, and the Cabinet.
During the meeting Destin reported to the ministers that human error nor equipment failures resulted in their lack of ability to predict the potential damage the freak storm caused.
According to Destin, there was no way for met officers to predict the level of rainfall the country experienced or the unusual pattern of the rain which impacted some parts of the island far more than others.
Communities on the west of Antigua received more than 15 inches of rain, while communities in the east received less than 5 inches. Barbuda received only 3.5 inches of rain, which was a manageable level of rain.
Destin did indicate, however, that certain administrative changes could result in a more efficient department.
The Cabinet has requested that he submit a comprehensive report that will allow the resources available to 23 person staff to be improved.
Additionally, Information Minister, Melford Nicholas has said the Cabinet is prepared to use the resources of the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme to support the continued professional training of the Met Office’s staff. With climate change a recognised global threat, Nicholas said it is important that nationals receive training in these critical areas to assist with planning and mitigation exercises.
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When mother nature decides it go do something no matter what training you have you can’t avoid it or fortify against it. Remember who is in charge.
Additional training on predicting weather? You stand a better chance at winning the lottery.
AGREED
Why not invest in some God gifted psychics.
Better access to weather satellite sites or better use of available ones.
Also when waters start to rise use the cell phone providers to put out the alert. I certainly get plenty of promo stuff from my provider
I am not against training and development Sometimes they like to throw people under the bus finding someone to blame so they could look good. It reminds when the PM said the health official is M.I.A when the COVID hit our shores. The weather prediction is not always accurate
The Cabinet does not have any hard work to do? It should be focused on the very serious issues that this country. When I first heard that the Met Office was summoned to Cabinet to give an explanation why it did not correctly forecast the recent rains, I thought to myself this must be a joke. As Destin said it was neither human error nor equipment failute that was the problem but rather administrative procedures. Having said that I still believe that having more advanced computers to do better modeling and weather analysis would help. I believe that the Met Office professionals are highly trained (many have university degrees) so I do not understand the Cabinet’s position on training. Training yes where the need arises. Anyway, Cabinet stop summoning people before you to fill out your Cabinet agenda.
*issues that confront this country
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