Southwest Indian Ocean countries review tropical cyclone operational plan |28 September 2017
Meteorologists, risk and disaster management officials and other stakeholders in cyclone, general weather and climate monitoring and observation from countries in the Southwest Indian Ocean are meeting here this week to review the Tropical Cyclone Operational Plan for the region as well as other pertinent related issues.
Seychelles is hosting the week-long 22nd RA I Tropical Cyclone Committee for the South West Indian Ocean meeting which started on Monday at Savoy Resort & Spa, Beau Vallon. The first time Seychelles hosted the meeting, which is held every two years, was in 1991 and it was the 10th RA I.
Vincent Amelie, the chief executive of the Seychelles Meteorological Authority, said cyclones are becoming more intense with climate change and it is important that countries of the region are warned of forthcoming extreme conditions in a timely manner, noting that it is important that the plan is updated as necessary to take into account experiences and lessons learnt from past cyclones.
“During this 22nd meeting members of the committee are also discussing and reviewing the role of the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre based in Reunion island in communicating timely information on forthcoming tropical cyclones to countries of the region,” Mr Amelie said.
He said the review is based on past experiences member countries have suffered as the committee’s concern is to continuously improve warning services to its members. Mr Amelie said another issue to be discussed and reviewed is the naming procedure for cyclones.
It was the principal secretary for energy and climate change Wills Agricole who launched the meeting on Monday.
He said it is crucial that countries of the region come together to review the tropical cyclone’s technical and operational plan for the region and also share experiences on issues which are of vital importance for their development and survival in the face of tropical cyclone challenges within the region and also internationally.
“Every two years the tropical cyclone committee meets with the aim to discuss and review established national and regional coordinated systems to ensure that the loss of life and damage caused by tropical cyclones are reduced to a minimum,” he said.
“As a small island state Seychelles is exposed to a disproportionately high economic, social and environmental impact of natural and environmental disasters. The country’s location and topography make it vulnerable to tropical cyclones, storms surges, extreme rainfall, flooding, land and rockslides which are further increased by the effects of climate change, thus presenting significant risks to the country’s sustainable development,” he added.
He went on to add that Seychelles has in the past few years been severely hit by tropical cyclones which have left people still reeling from their impacts and these are Bondo which hit Farquhar in 2006, Felleng which hit Seychelles islands in January 2013 causing widespread flooding and landslides prompting the government to declare a state of emergency and appeal for international help but there again no one was seriously injured or killed. More recently tropical cyclone Fantala hit Farquhar on April 17-19 last year damaging almost all infrastructure and coconut plantations on the island. The damage caused was worth US $7.5 million.
“Thanks to adequate preparedness measures taken by government and Islands Development Company (IDC) no one was killed or seriously injured but the intensity of tropical cyclones cannot be undermined and it remains a serious ongoing challenge. Therefore, Seychelles recognises the necessity to continuously improve disaster risk reduction and management in our country,” Mr Agricole stressed.