Its a shame - that the country's 'financial capital' crumbles totally when there is heavy rain. While a lot of media attention has been focussed on the role of the BMC and the state government, I want to bring the spotlight on the role of the met department.
I remember seeing the forecast for Western India - "Heavy to very heavy rain expected in the next 24 hours." Now does this tell anyone that the city is going to get record rainfall? Hey, even Bangalore has been getting similar forecasts for nearly two weeks now! I don't get it - can't the met department actually say - "Record rainfall predicted"? I remember watching forecasts in Raleigh and Fort Lauderdale. They were never wrong. If the forecaster said heavy rain - he would also say heavy rain of the kind that will flood drains (though that never happened).
So, why can't we do the same? Don't we have the equipment? Or the models? Or is it simply first-rate negligence?
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3 comments:
I had exactly the same questions. I suspect it is to do with models.
I think it is due to negligence. After all, no one is held accountable if the forecasts go wrong.
Gops - you are 100% right about the Met department. There is something grossly wrong there. But as it turns out for Katrina it was really the other departments that didnt react in time. I appreciate the Met department in the US. Recently read in ToI about how Vada-Pav cart-sellers fed flood victims in Mumbai while in flooded New Orleans there was rampant looting, rape and such attrocities!
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