Gearing up for the rainy season |12 October 2023
Above normal rainfall is expected for this upcoming rainy season (Seychelles NATION archive)
By Patrick Joubert
The Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD) in collaboration with the Seychelles Meteorological Authority (SMA) met with key stakeholders yesterday in preparation for the rainy season.
During the meeting at the ‘Maison De Foot’ auditorium, Roche Caiman, representatives from various concerned ministries, departments and agencies, discussed and shared ideas on various mechanisms to attend to emergencies and mitigate disasters that may arise in view that the country will be expecting above normal rainfall.
This was in terms of preparedness, response mechanism, resource management, health, evacuation and shelters, activation of the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) and the engagement of the private sector.
Speaking to the media, the chief of the National Emergency Operation centre within DRMD and facilitator of the meeting, Cliff Alissop, said the idea was to check what types of emergency tools they had and what else was needed to mitigate disasters and protect citizens and their properties.
One of DRMD’s mandates is to ensure that all government departments and agencies get the necessary updated information in preparation for any eventualities so they could take decisive and concrete actions, as early as possible.
“Given that we will experience heavy rains in the coming months, I would like to urge people in the community to also ensure of their safety and that of their properties and always follow the media for information including forecasts by the met office and also to follow instructions given by the local authorities,” Mr Alissop said.
Before yesterday’s discussion, the participants were given a detailed overview of the expected rainfall pattern for this season. In his presentation, weather forecaster Hezron Andango explained that the country will expect rainfall above normal as from October 2023 up to February 2024 due to three main climate drivers.
Firstly the Indian Ocean dipole which is responsible for pushing warm waters to the Western part of the Indian Ocean while cold deep waters are brought up to the surface in the Eastern Indian Ocean.
Secondly, the El Niño, which warms up the ocean, and thirdly, the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), which is a band of clouds consisting of showers and occasional thunderstorms that progresses over Seychelles’ area.
“There are other drivers, but based on the analysis of those three current active climate drivers, the whole of Seychelles is expected to have generally wetter than normal rainfall conditions during the October to February 2024 rainy season. It is them acting together that will cause that increase in abnormal rainfall,” Mr Andango said.
Given that season forecasts are tailored for planning purposes as they are associated with uncertainties, Mr Andango strongly recommended that it is used in conjunction with daily, weekly and monthly forecasts as well as climate monitoring products issued by the Seychelles Meteorological Authority.
Speaking to Seychelles Nation, the district administrator for Grand Anse Praslin, Chantal Larue, said that given the past rains that have been falling, the district authority last week met with other government agencies to visit marshes and drainage in the district.
She noted that following this meeting, the authority will meet with concerned parties to go over the district disaster management plan to ensure that all is well in place to face the heavy rain.
