No dangerous tidal waves to Nigeria: meteorologist

Nigeria is for now far from suffering a fate similar to that of Asia and some parts of east Africa, which were hit by tidal waves on Sunday, killing over 24,000 persons, local newspaper The Guardian reported Tuesday.

Samson Wilson, chief meteorologist of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, was quoted as saying that "for now Nigeria does not have any threat."

According to him, the tidal waves from the India Ocean "cannot move through east Africa passing through massive land" to reach Nigeria's coast.

But he feared that tidal waves could occur in Nigeria from May to September, the rainy season in the west African country.

He also feared that the continuous reclaiming of land in Lagos,the largest coastal port city in west Africa, especially around the Lekki Peninsular area, may lead to flooding in the near future.

Flooding occurs frequently in Nigeria during rainy season, killing thousands of people and destroying millions naira worth of property (about 10,000 US dollars) a year.

However, the chief meteorologist said Nigeria had the capacity to monitor such events. "We have facilities to monitor such an occurrence in Nigeria," the meteorologist said.

Source: Xinhua