The Lagos State Government has raised the alarm over the imminent
ripple effect on Lagos coastal areas of the Hurricane Sandy that hit the
United States of America and the Caribbean.
The Government said the effects will be felt within a week or two weeks.
The state government has therefore warned residents in coastline and the Atlantic areas to be extremely vigilant.
At
a news conference today, Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront and
Infrastructure Development, Prince Segun Oniru said experience has shown
that whenever hurricane, cyclone or other natural disasters occurred on
the American shore, the ripple effects were always felt in Lagos within
seven and 14 days period.
“Let Lagosians know what is going on,
and what to expect, it is not to create panic; they should be careful
around the Ocean and Lagoon. In the last five to six days, around the
Caribbean, from Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba Hurricane Sandy has hit those
places and has also hit the East Coast of America.
“Normally, when
such happens, and when those kinds of magnitude hit that part of the
world, we always have a ripple effect in Lagos and around the West Coast
of Africa. Our main concern is Lagos; it is a warning, but not to
create panic,” he said.
He explained that “Lagos lies parallel to
the South America part of the world on the map, but Super Storm Sandy
has hit New York City and Atlantic and the West Part.
That part of the world is northern to us, but we need to note that within the next 7 to 14 days, we may get a ripple effect.
“When
the wind starts, the wind turns to an hurricane and then high water
level begins to rise because of the wind; imagine throwing water on a
glass, it will splash back, so we may have high wave, high water level.
“I
advice those who live around the coastline and shoreline to be
vigilant and remain calm and if they start seeing storms like the one
that occurred on 17 of August this year, they should stay off the
Atlantic. It’s a warning to those on the Coastline.”