Authorities Warns About Hurricane Sandy “coming” to Lagos Nigeria in 7 days

Posted by: stiphbami in News Oct 31, 2012

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday warned residents of the state to prepare for the ripple effect of Hurricane Sandy in the state.

Hurricane Sandy is a 2012 late-season violent tropical storm that has affected Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.

The Commissioner for Waterfront Development and Infrastructure, Mr. Adesegun Oniru, said the government was projecting that within seven to 14 days, the state would experience the ripple effect of the hurricane in its coastlines.

He explained that the government based its projection on, “experience, records and study of past happenings” and had started taking precautionary measures. Oniru said, “This warning is not to cause panic in Lagos, but to place us all on alert that if we notice anything unusual in our coast lines, we should not go near the waters but rather call government attention.

“This storm has hit the Caribbean and is now in USA. We always get a ripple effect of such happening in Lagos. This wind started in Africa, went west gathering more wind and later turning to hurricane. We expect a splash back effect. It could be on our coastlines and shorelines, it could be more than that. And it may not happen at all. Everybody must be vigilant. Let us be careful around our oceans and lagoons.”

The commissioner said the government was planning to protect Kuramo, Oniru, Majidun, Alpha beach and other areas affected by the last ocean surge in the state.

The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on the Environment, Dr. Taofeek Folami, urged the residents of the state to avoid flooding effect of the storm by refraining from dumping their refuse into drainage channels.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, urged the state residents not to panic, saying the alert was for them to know what to do to prepare for such occurrence.