ENN Special Report
03/25/97 - 12:00CST
Weather Service Officials Allege;
"Deaths will Occur"
Editorial Opinion by; Clark Staten,
ERRI Executive Director
(ENN) Chicago, IL -- Four senior members of the National Weather
Service (NWS) have publicly released a memo they sent to National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chief D. James
Baker. In that memo, the NWS officials say that proposed budget
cuts at that agency will "jeopardize public safety by
greatly increasing the risk of weather related disasters."
The officials; Ronald McPherson, Director-Nation Center for
Environmental Prediction, Louis Boezi, Deputy
Administrator-Weather Service Modernization, Thomas Potter,
Western Region Director, and Douglas Sargeant, Director-Office of
Systems Development, all signed the document that was forwarded
to their superiors at NOAA.
In the memo, the officials are protesting staff cuts at several
of the NWS forecast offices, including the vitally important
National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL.. According to sources at
the Hurricane Center, the jobs of "over-night"
forecasters who track major storms during nighttime hours will be
"downsized" in an upcoming $27.5 million cutback.
The situation is reportedly so dire that 38-year veteran Ronald
McPherson has a threatened to resign if the budget cuts aren't
restored. McPherson calls the budget cuts "ill-advised"
and points to a ominous prediction in the memo that says,
"There will be an increased probability that more people
will die or suffer serious injury or property loss as a result of
these weakened capabilities in the NWS."
Considering the importance of accurate and timely predictions of
severe weather, and the impact these forecasts could have on
emergency preparedness and planning operations, we at ERRI couldn't
agree more with the NWS officials. The planned cuts from crucial
positions at the NWS are more than ill-advised...they border on
psychological
dysfunction.
If one considers the number of federal employment positions, in
literally hundreds of agencies, one must begin to ask who is
responsible for a decision that would lay-off these people in
these critical positions while thousands of others in the federal
government would be hard pressed to explain what it is they do to
contribute to the betterment of society.
The history of government "boon-doggles," "pork
barrel projects," non-sensical studies of obscure and
non-essential subjects, and other wastes of taxpayer dollars is
by now infamous and well-documented. To suggest that these
expenditures should take precedent over the prediction and
reporting of potentially devastating tornadoes, hurricanes, and
other devastating storms is a travesty that must be addressed by
those in Washington immediately.
We, with many years of experience in emergency planning and
response, are hereby joining the chorus of those that find it
necessary to publicly protest these budget cuts in an agency that
is vital to a potential reduction of unnecessary injuries and
deaths.
Please, Mr. Baker, and ultimately President Clinton...make the
prudent decision and restore the staff cuts in these essential
services in the National Weather Service at your earliest
opportunity.
(Clark Staten is a retired Asst. Chief Paramedic from a major
metropolitan fire department, a veteran emergency
analyst/manager, and has responded to thousands of emergency and
disaster calls. Since his public service retirement, he heads the
Emergency Response & Research Institute, one of the nation's
leading Emergency Service/National Security
"think-tanks.")
(C) EmergencyNet News Service, 1997. Redistribute at will.
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