Kathmandu, April 2 -- Failure to predict an approaching powerful storm because of poor early warning system, coupled with zero preparedness on the ground, led to one of the worst windstorm devastations in the country on Sunday night.

The weather forecasting authority failed to keep track of the weather phenomenon that late on Sunday evening swept across two Tarai districts-Bara and Parsa-of Province 2, killing at least 27, injuring more than 400 and causing massive damage.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division, which has been issuing weather forecast for a maximum of three days, however, completely missed the approaching high-speed winds.

Oblivious to the fact that a disaster was in the making, the division, operating under the Depar...