Severe Flooding, Ocean Surge Cause Death and Destruction in Nigeria

At least 98 people are killed as floods sweep through the Nigerian city of Ibadan. Nearby in the country's coastal capital Lagos, ocean surge leaves over 1,000 homeless.

Nigeria Red Cross reports that floods in the southwest Nigerian city of Ibadan killed at least 98 people over the weekend.

Nigeria suffers from seasonal flash floods, which are sometimes lethal in its overcrowded slums, owing to poor drainage.

The Red Cross said more corpses were recovered from affected areas on Monday raising the number to 98 so far.

Around 2,000 people have been displaced by the floods in the city, which lies about 75 miles north of the commercial capital Lagos.

And in Lagos, an ocean surge has left over 1,000 residents in the Alpha beach area homeless.

Strong tides from the Atlantic ocean have destroyed property and shops along the beach.

What is normally a tourist attraction has become a broken coastline littered with debris and wreckage.

Area resident Moshood Alayaki says the rising water has destroyed many livehoods.

[Moshood Alayaki, Alpha Beach Trader]:
"All of our properties are damaged. We have a shop there we are selling drinks, we have a lot of customers. Look at our road, everything is spoilt. Since I was born, I don't have any idea that the water will spoil like this."

Desmond Majekodunmi, an environmental activist, explained that hurricane "Irene" which hit the Caribbean and the U.S east coast, might have had an impact on the weather on the other side of the Atlantic.

[Desmond Majekodunmi, Environmental Activist]:
"This is the storm season and you have what is called the ripple effect so there's a strong possibility that the huge waves that were stirred up in the various arenas of the ocean where you're having these hurricanes and so on would eventually cause more larger ocean surge."

Prince Adesegun Oniru, the Commissioner for Water Front and Infrastructure Development in Lagos, also blamed the high waves and tides raised by "Irene" for the ocean surge affecting Nigeria's main city.

[Prince Adesegun Oniru, Lagos Waterfront Commissioner]:
"...It's happening because right now around the world, particularly in the Caribbean, we have cyclones going on, the hurricane "Irene" and what we're getting here in this part of the world is the ripple effect of what is going on."

He urged people to stay away from the coastal area to avoid being harmed.

[Prince Adesegun Oniru, Lagos Waterfront Commissioner]:
"All we can do is to tell our people to move away from the coastal area and to stay away from the Atlantic because some people think that this is child's play and they still go to the water even when the waves are down for a moment or two..."

The Lagos state government is taking measures to control the situation by putting beach guards and watch towers to monitor the system.