The Most Effective Methods for Delivering Severe Weather Early Warnings to Fishermen on Lake Victoria

CONCLUSION Exposure to the lake was common with fishing in the lake being a major occupation in the study population. Over half of the respondents were aware of at least one community member who had been injured due to lightning and a significant number of respondents were willing to pay for a smart phone based commercial severe weather early warning system service. This will enable timely dissemination of sever weather alerts against hazards like lightning and thunderstorms hence giving lead time to those exposed to take actions to prevent, mitigate, or prepare for such risks. The sever weather early warning system will therefore reduce risk of drowning on lakes among fishing communities. Corresponding Author Doreen Tuhebwe (dtuhebwe@musph.ac.ug; tuhereen@yahoo.com). Competing Interests The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Data Availability Statement All relevant data are within the manuscript and the public repository Figshare. Please view data at the following URL: https://figshare.com/s/526fec13e1c8e386809d Ethics Statement Approval for the study was received from the Uganda National Meteorological Authority. The assessment was conducted under supervision of Makerere University School of Public Health.
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Source Type: research