The Delegation of the European Commission and CARIFORUM yesterday signed a financing agreement in Georgetown for a 13.2M euros ($3B) weather radar early warning system in the Caribbean and Guyana is one of four countries to benefit from new stations.

The project, according to a press release from the commission, is being funded by the European Union (EU) from the European Development Fund. The objective of the project is to reduce vulnerability of the region to adverse weather, particularly floods and hurricanes.

The funds will finance four new digital weather radar early warning stations to be constructed in Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Belize which will be linked to the five existing stations in the region to form a complete regional network.

Integrating radar images from multiple sources on a regular basis is already being done by Meteo-France in Martinique. The composite system will be adapted and upgraded to provide radar images and data throughout the Caribbean.

Training will also be provided in the use of all the new equipment. For each of the four countries where a radar station is to be constructed, the government has undertaken to provide the land, infrastructure, services and local technical support and to operate and maintain the radar stations thereafter.

The release stated that in the case of Guyana, the site of the weather station will be next to the Timehri Airport.

Additionally, the secretariat of CARIFORUM, located in Guyana has the overall responsibility for the project, whilst the executing agency will be the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation, based in Trinidad. The system will promote greater cooperation and sharing of information in the region and should thereby help reduce the amount of damage suffered by the people of the Caribbean from natural disasters.

The release quoted the European Commissioner for Development and Human-itarian Aid, Poul Nielson, as saying: "Severe weather systems, such as hurricanes, have all too often proved devastating and in some cases fatal for communities across the Caribbean." He added that in the long term they hampered progress and economic growth. Nielson said too that by joining forces with its partners in the region, the EC will facilitate the detection of severe weather systems as soon as they develop. He said this should in turn provide the advance warning on which people depend to protect their families, property and business.