Australia's national weather agency has forcefully responded to allegations it provided confusing and delayed warnings as dangerous superstorms battered Queensland's southeast.
Social Media Storm Over Warnings
The Bureau of Meteorology found itself weathering a different kind of storm on social media following Monday's severe weather event that saw giant hail and cyclonic winds cause widespread damage across the region. The bureau shared images of the massive hail clumps that pounded parts of Queensland, but many users seized the opportunity to criticise the agency's warning systems.
One frustrated social media user commented, "you missed the warnings, BOM," while another claimed the bureau "sat on its hands" as the storms developed. A third described the warnings as "too little too late and what was given was muddled."
The criticism comes at a challenging time for the weather agency, which has been facing scrutiny over its recently launched $96.5 million website overhaul.
BOM's Detailed Defence
The Bureau of Meteorology provided a comprehensive timeline of its warning efforts, arguing it had been preparing residents for Monday's storm risk for two full days before the severe weather hit.
The bureau stated it began alerting the public on Saturday with a severe weather video, followed by risk maps shared on Sunday. On Monday, as the storms approached, the agency shared additional thunderstorm risk maps and another severe weather video before the severe weather impacted the region.
"This is along with forecasts and warnings shared on our website and the BOM Weather app," the bureau explained in its social media response.
Not all feedback was negative, with several social media users coming to the bureau's defence. One supporter noted, "there were warnings on the BOM all day and days prior."
Website Costs Under Fire
The controversy over storm warnings coincides with ongoing criticism of the bureau's expensive website upgrade. The $96.5 million price tag has drawn heavy criticism, particularly since the initial expectation was for the project to cost just $4.1 million.
BOM chief executive Stuart Minchin, who recently took leadership of the agency, defended the expenditure, explaining that the original $4.1 million figure only covered the website's front-end redesign. The complete cost reflects a broader system revamp necessary after a 2015 cyber-attack.
Minchin committed to transparency regarding the costs and acknowledged user difficulties with the redesigned site. Improvements are already underway, including a new rain radar shortcut expected on the homepage by the end of the week.
The severe weather left significant damage across Queensland's southeast, with more than 162,000 properties losing power, homes suffering structural damage, and public transport and schools forced to close. The insurance council has declared the hailstorm event an insurance catastrophe.
