After one year of study at the National School of Météo France [Toulouse, France], 5 Haitian four young men and a woman have received proudly this week, their diploma of forecaster to Météo France to the Lamentin, Martinique. They are currently pursuing an internship until the end of July and could join the rotation program of the "forecasters visitors" in the month of August. The pursuit of a more comprehensive training plan is currently being studied.

In Haiti, there are only two forecasters throughout the country. This team building is especially important since that Haiti is often the victim of severe weather causing many casualties, fault to not having been able to make forecasts and to emit warnings to the population in time.

For this year, the goal is to give to the Haitian meteorology the first elements of autonomy in terms of observations, forecasts and production. This requires the installation of six automatic weather stations in Haiti and by the provision of tools to ensure the forecasting and its dissemination. In the meantime, the support from Martinique is much appreciated. The staff of the Haitian weather service does not miss an opportunity to show its appreciation. The support will continue until November 2011.

BF/ HaitiLibre