Cyclone Warning
The Class System of
Warnings is based primarily on the extent of the risk and secondly on
the time factor. The coded Class System by itself can, in no way,
indicate the intensity or size of the cyclone nor the extent to which
gusts will exceed 120 km/h.
| CLASS II | Issued to allow, as far as practicable 12 hours of daylight before the occurrence of gusts of 120 km/h. |
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CLASS III | Issued to allow, as far as practicable, 6 hours of daylight before the advent of 120 km/h gusts. |
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CLASS IV | Issued when gusts of 120 km/h have been recorded in some places and are expected to continue. |
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| TERMINATION | Issued when there is no longer any risk of gusts exceeding 120 km/h. |
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The threshold of 120 km/h represents the speed at which significant damages may start to occur to trees and structures.
Code Flags Flown on Certain Buildings are as Follows:-
Warning Class I - One red flag
Warning Class II - Two red flags
Warning Class III - Three red flags
Warning Class IV - Three red flags
Termination - One blue flag
Cyclone Bulletins
(i)
Cyclone Bulletins are issued by the MMS and give the position,
intensity and movement of a cyclone with a forecast of the expected
changes in the conditions of the wind, rain and the sea, expected time
of commencement of specified wind speed and gust conditions. Advice
about precautions are given in general terms but all recipients must
necessarily apply the contents of the forecast to their own situation
because, for instance, a householder may be able to close his shutters
in a few minutes during the night whereas the proper protection of
fishing boats require a considerable period of daylight hours.
(ii)
Cyclone Bulletins numbering from a few to a dozen or more for each
cyclone are issued at generally at 6-hourly intervals or more often.
Each bulletin is labelled first, second, third, etc, and dated and
timed. Each shall also state the time when the next bulletin will be
issued.
(iii) The bulletins will contain, as detailed above, a description
of the cyclone and efforts will be made to keep them fairly concise and
to avoid verbosity. They will normally be issued at twelve (12) hourly
intervals for Cyclone Warning Class I and six (6) hourly intervals for
Class II but when the cyclone is very near, the frequency will be
increased to three (3) hourly intervals for Cyclone Warning Class. New
observation sometimes necessitates a revision of the outlook or even of
the past history. An upgrading or a downgrading of the warning status
may have to be made unexpectedly. The MMS will issue warning appropriate to the prevailing meteorological situation and outlook without regard to any rules which transport or business enterprises have laid down for their own conduct in a cyclone warning situation.
(iv) Special attention need to be given for the issue of possible
warnings to the public and tourist community to ensure that the calm
period during the passing of the eye of the cyclone is not mistaken for
an end of the cyclonic winds.
(v) As far as possible, a line of communication between the
MMS, the NDRRMC, the MBC and the private radios will be maintained at
all times. The public should be made aware of the possibility of an
interruption in the flow of information. It should be understood that
precautions should have been taken prior to the advent of cyclonic
conditions.
(vi) At the beginning of holiday periods or week-ends,
advance issue of a warning may be found necessary to allow preliminary
precautions to be taken and making arrangements for personnel to be made
available for more elaborate precautions.
Distribution of Cyclone Warning Bulletins
Cyclone information is disseminated through the MBC, NDRRMC, Police,
Public & Private Radio Stations, the Press and the Audiotex and
Telmet Services. This scheme provides general responsibilities and
actions of:
(a) All organisations;
(b) Alerting agency;
(c) Coordinating agencies at National and Municipal/Districts Council levels;
(d) Main response agencies, and
(e) Other stakeholders.
The scheme is divided under the following sections:
(a) General Preparedness before Cyclonic Season;
(b) Upon Approach of cyclone;
(c) During cyclone, and
(d) Aftermath.
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