26.5.09

Cyclone Aila





The name — Aila — that was on everyone’s lips denoted fire. The name was coined by Met officials of the Maldives. The storms that trigger cyclones in the North Indian Ocean zone are named by members of eight South Asian countries which are member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The member countries are India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The list of names of for cyclones that originate in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are decided well in advance by WMO members, said Met officials. There is a procedure to name the cyclones in an ocean basin by the Tropical Cyclone Regional Body responsible for that basin. Normally the names of cyclones that are decided need to be short and readily understood when it is broadcast. The names must not be culturally sensitive. Moreover, the names of storms are not repeated, as they are associated with death and destruction. All storms are named in turn by the member nations.
Similarly, the storms of the future already have names: Phyan is named by Myanmar and Ward by Oman, while Laila is a Pakistani name, which would be followed by Bandu (Sri Lanka) and Phet (Thailand).

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