Disasters
THE Nigeria Meteorological Society (NIMETS) on Thursday urged the Lagos State Government to give priority to the damaging effects of climate change on the State.
Prof. Clement Akhosile, President of the society made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, following excessive flooding of some parts of Lagos, especially in Lekki and Ajah areas.
“Water does not have national boundaries and will always find its level no matter what is on its path.
”Lagos is on the plain. There are the Lagoons, the ocean and other waters surrounding the city.
”To stop excessive flooding during the rains requires absolute obedience to town planning regulations which the people and government are violating continuously.
”The Climate Change is really affecting the amount of water in many areas and Lagos is no exemption.
”The continuous violation of town planning regulations by government and individuals can be dangerous when increase in water level destroy the highways, houses, commercial buildings and even overtake the airports,” he said.
Akoshile said that legal and illegal land reclamation, the ocean surge and individuals’ bad habit of blocking the drainage channels all contribute to flooding in the state.
He said that when structures were built to displace original vegetation and grassland, the town planning of that area would automatically change.
The NMETS president said that the right thing would then be to build functional drainage channels for the water to pass through.
He said that flooding had never demarcated between houses, offices and vehicles of the rich and the poor but had always occupied and swept away everything on its path.
Akoshile, who said it was unfortunate that many parts of Aja area in Lagos were immersed in water, added that not much could be done the rainy season.
According to him, there are no shortcuts to solving the flooding problem once the rains set in.
He noted that state government’s preparation ahead of the rainy season had always been advised, saying “this is known to be the effective way to tackle flooding”.
Akoshile said that the government should have worked ahead to open up all the drainage channels to ensure that as land were being reclaimed, avenues were being created for water to flow through.
He said in the face of the new construction developments in Aja, the building patterns should also change to create path for the water to flow.
-NAN
BE
– July 16, 2019 @ 13:33 GMT |
Tags: Flooding: Society urges LASG to give priority to damaging effects of climate change
