DILI, 15 november 2023 (TATOLI) – The Government, through the National Directorate of Meteorology and Geophysics (DNMG), together with development partners, gathered on wednesday to discuss seasonal forecasting and have necessary preparations for the wet season ahead.
The Director of the DNMG, Terencio Fernandes Diaz, said that this Forum aims to promote inter-agency coordination to deal with the extreme hydro-meteorological events that drive hazardous hydrologic and geomorphic responses, such as floods, landslides, and debris flows, which pose a significant threat to communities.
He said that at the forum, DNMG and partners discussed the use of the climate outlook for season-ahead preparedness.
The forum allows DNMG and stakeholders to assess the challenges and anticipatory actions to improve national meteorological services in preparation for the upcoming wet season.
He said that the use of the climate outlook will provide appropriate information that is important to ensure disaster risk reduction and climate risk management.
Timor-Leste in collaboration with stakeholders has established and strengthened the country’s early warning systems.
In order to promote safe communities, the system includes a dissemination platform that shares timely warnings with people who need to take extra precautionary measures to be protected from impending natural hazards.
The forum was attended by representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Care International, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, etc.
Timor-Leste, as an island nation in Southeast Asia, is also one of the most vulnerable countries to extreme weather and slow-onset climatic events, like sea level rise.
The 2021 Tropical Cyclone Seroja that caused flash floods on april 4, in Dili, killed more than 41 people, 11 went missing, and destroyed more than 6,000 homes.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Filomeno Martins
