We’ve been telling you about the doppler radar at the Met Office since October – but most of the news was that it wasn’t working because of snags in the installation. But those kinks have been worked out and tonight we can report that the doppler has completed a two week test and was handed over to the Met Office today. After the past two weeks went by smoothly the German contractor signed off on it – and Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega received it. He said, it will be an immense addition to Belize safety and disaster preparedness.
Hon. Gaspar Vega, Deputy Prime Minister
“It gives me great joy and a sense of comfort to know that the Meteorological Service is now in a much better position to provide warnings to the whole country and in particular to the National Emergency Management Organization, best known as NEMO, to better institute safety measures to preserve life and property whenever we are threatened my severe weather phenomenon. Tour operators and tour guides will be able to download the Belize radar images from the internet and use it to plan their tours around the country and avoid experiencing or about to experience severe weather conditions. The Doppler radar will provide estimates of storm total precipitation and rainfall rates over varying time periods. This information can be used by farmers and fisher folks to plan their operations as well as to take mitigating measures to reduce the impact of severe weather on their yields.”
