By Victor Ebimomi/Lagos
South West states comprising Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Lagos have to brace up for a turbulent weather with the onset of the rainy season.
Wreckage of the devastation in Idogbo.
The bigger problem may not be with flooding but violent windstorms capable of causing havoc and death, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
An early morning rain on April 13, preceded by severe windstorm, wreaked devastation in many parts of Lagos and Ogun.
Building roofs were blown off, religious places shaken to their foundations, and telecommunications masts and trees uprooted as the windstorms roared like a hurricane.
There may be low rainfall this year but precautions should be taken against windstorm, the NEMA said.
Its Western Zone spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye, told TheNiche that the windstorms on April 13 could be a precursor to greater ones, and warned that people should be cautious the moment there is any sign of rain.
He advised parents to protect children and not send them on far-distance errands so that they will not get caught up in windstorms.
Besides, he said, once there is rainstorm, people should not go near temporary structures.
Between February and March alone “over 5,000 people were affected by wind and rainstorm disasters in Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Oyo States,” Farinloye added.
Lagos and Ogun were seriously affected by the rainstorm on April 13 but Ogun took the brunt as hundreds of houses were destroyed and thousands of people displaced in the state.
Data compiled by the NEMA showed that about 600 houses were destroyed and over 3,000 displaced in Idogbo near Ilaro in Yewa South council, three schools were destroyed, leaving about 500 pupils stranded.
In Iweke community in the same council, about 55 houses were destroyed and 527 people affected.
Farinloye said the federal and state governments are providing vulnerable people with food and other relief materials.
The aged and children are temporarily accommodated in churches and mosques and alternative study centres are being provided for displaced pupils before they resume from the Easter break.
Farinloye urged Nigerians to plant trees to serve as wind breakers and prevent climate related havoc.
He urged federal and state authorities to embark on campaign to educate Nigerians on the new phase of evolving disaster in the country.