Africa-Press – Cape verde. A lack of adequate equipment prevented the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics (INMG) from predicting the amount of rain that would fall in São Vicente in the early hours of this Monday.
In total, according to the INMG, more than 192.3 millimeters of precipitation fell, resulting from the passage of a tropical wave that intensified into a low-pressure center over the Western Barlavento. Forecasts indicate continued rainfall of varying intensity across all islands throughout the morning and early afternoon today.
According to the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics (INMG), the atmospheric instability was caused by a 1006 hPa low-pressure system that passed over São Nicolau, São Vicente, and Santo Antão. It is now moving westward and gradually moving away from the archipelago, although Cape Verde remains under its influence.
Speaking to Expresso das Ilhas after being questioned about the failure to issue a timely alert, INMG president Ester Brito explained that “it’s not that an alert wasn’t issued. The forecast was made. Rain was predicted, thunderstorms were predicted, the whole situation was predicted. However, we can’t predict the intensity of the rain. INMG doesn’t yet have, let’s say, the equipment, which is a radar that can not only see but also more or less accurately measure the amount of precipitable water. We can’t do that yet.”
And it was this fact that prevented Civil Protection from issuing an alert.
“As the National Civil Protection and Fire Service, we depend on data from the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, right? And it’s based on data from the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, after analysis, that we issue the appropriate alert or coordinate with municipal authorities,” said Domingos Tavares, President of the National Civil Protection and Fire Service.
The government, however, has already declared a state of emergency in São Vicente and Santo Antão.
“The government has already declared a state of emergency so that it can activate the National Emergency Fund to address the damage caused to roads, streets, and other infrastructure and assist people in difficult situations caused by the severe weather,” the statement reads.
So far, the death toll has reached seven and five people are missing.
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