According to a report by Radio Zamaneh, the head of the Meteorology Organization has been summoned by Parliament to explain the lack of adequate warnings about the storms that ravaged Tehran last week.

The head of the Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Commission of Parliament told IRNA that the organization is responsible for warning the appropriate government official and the public to prepare for critical events such as storms, floods and droughts, and last week everyone was caught off guard by the strong winds that felled trees and flung heavy objects, leading to five deaths and many more injuries.

Davood Parhizgar, the head of the Meteorology Organization, told the Shargh daily, however, that it is not true that his organization issued no warnings.

“The Meteorology Organization is faced with a serious shortage of specialized human and technical resources and, therefore, is unable to predict these events,” Parhizgar told Shargh; “However, despite this shortage, my organization did predict heavy winds in its announcement on the 27th.”