Haiti's meteorologists scramble to prepare for hurricane season
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Haiti's meteorologists are scrambling to prepare for the approaching hurricane season, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.
"There is no time to waste," Michel Jarraud, WMO's secretary- general, said at a press conference here. "It is very important to help Haiti to be as prepared as possible," Jarraud added.
The rainy season in Haiti begins in April, and the hurricane season in June. In a revised United Nations flash appeal, which will be announced on Feb. 17, the WMO will ask for one million U.S. dollars to help Haiti prepare.
"April literally starts tomorrow," Jarraud said. The WMO secretary-general expressed his concern about aid agencies' focus on tents, as they are vulnerable to strong winds.
Haiti's National Meteorological Center (NMC) was reestablished just last weekend with assistance from the WMO. Its headquarters, demolished in the earthquake, are currently held in a tent at the airport.
According to Robert Masters, WMO's development director, the NMC has three computers and two automatic outdoor weather stations, neither of which is working automatically.
Masters said that "for a country of Haiti's size, you usually need seven to ten" such stations. Of the NMC's 22 permanent staff members, one was killed in the earthquake. Many volunteers, however, are still missing.
