Flood prevention in Lagos state.

08 Aug, 2007

The Lagos authorities have begun to remove illegal buildings and other obstacles blocking drainage channels in an effort to prevent a repeat of the serious flooding that has affected large parts of the state over the past several days. At least six people are thought to have drowned in the floods in Lagos and thousands more have been displaced from their homes. The high water levels have been blamed on poor drainage due to unregulated urban development and the build-up of litter in drainage channels. Bad weather and flooding has wreaked havoc across many other parts of Nigeria in recent days, including the states of Sokoto in the northwest, Borno in the northeast, Plateau in the centre and Yobe in the north.