PM for upgrading disaster mitigation system to minimize risks

“Since meteorological phenomena do not obey political or geographical boundaries, international cooperation for exchange of weather data and information throughout the globe is essential for worldwide disaster management,” she said.
The Prime Minister was inaugurating the 41st session of WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea organized by Bangladesh Meteorological Department at International Conference Center of PMO office here today.
Sheikh Hasina said, “It’s not possible to prevent natural disasters, their mitigation and adaptation are possible through accurate and timely forecasts and warnings along with adequate preparedness.”
Bangladesh could escape huge loss and damage from severe category cyclone SIDR in 2007 due to the capacity building in providing accurate and timely forecast by Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), she said.
In the above perspective, she said, the Government of Bangladesh has taken a number of development programmes during the last couple of years to establish an institutional arrangement from the national to local levels, for effective and systematic disaster management.
She said Bangladesh has made a paradigm shift of the disaster management policy from conventional response and relief to comprehensive risk reduction culture. “A Framework for Action Plan has been drawn up and initiatives taken to integrate the country’s vision with global initiatives,” she added.
Sheikh Hasina said, Bangladesh Meteorological Department is collaborating with international organizations to collect more accurate and detailed weather data and information to reduce impact of cyclones. To keep up with the objectives of these international collaborations, the Government of Bangladesh has taken up initiatives for more effective future plans at national level.
The Prime Minister attached importance on ensuring proper application of latest technology with the conventional system for upgrading the existing early warning and mitigation activities, saying, “In the perspective of digital Bangladesh, the government has undertaken a number of projects for enhancement of the capacity of the meteorological department.”
“Under the financial and technical assistance of JICA, three sophisticated Doppler radars have been installed at Cox’s Bazar, Khepupara and Moulvibazar,” she said adding, “conventional radars of Dhaka and Rangpur will be replaced by other two sophisticated Doppler radars.”
She said the government with its own resources has established three new seismic observatories in Dhaka, Rangpur and Sylhet and the existing one at Chittagong has been modernized.
The Prime Minister hoped that the 41st session of the PTC will deliver pragmatic recommendations and innovative ideas through discussions among participating meteorological scientists and disaster management experts which would help in devising effective cyclone warning system and improving preparedness and mitigation measures.
Defence Secretary Khandakar M Asaduzzaman, Director General of WMO Tropical Cyclone Programmes Division Taooyong PENG, secretary general of TPC and DG of Pakistan Met Department Arif Muhammad, representative of UN ESCAP Keran Wang and director of BMD Shah Alam, also spoke on the occasion.

Source: BSS