Expect violent winds after flooding - NIMET

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency(NIMET) has warned Nigerians to take precautions against violent winds that may occur during the dry season, due to the effects of climate change.The Director-General of NIMET, Dr Anthony Anuforom, gave the warning in Abuja at the weekend in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).He said that windy weather was expected during the dry season, following more heavy rains, likely to lead to more floods between September and October.He cautioned people not to stay under threes during the period.``We are transiting now from rainy to dry season; the kind of things we may experience are violent winds. Therefore, we advice people to avoid staying under trees.``The reason why we alert people is for them to know ahead of time and take necessary precautions.``We have no ability to protect natural disasters, but the ability to observe what the weather is and inform the people early.``Part of the mandate of the Ministry of Aviation is safety and we as an agency under it have keyed into it,'' Anuforom said.He noted that forecast by the agency if strictly adhered to could help save the situation, adding that any emergency situation could only surprise people unexpectedly if there were no early warnings.``If adequate disaster risk measures are taken, the number of deaths will decrease because people must have known what to expect,'' Anuforom said.The NIMET chief said that the 2013 annual seasonal rainfall predictions bulletin on weather and climate would be released early to get people prepared and make use of it.It will be recalled that NIMET on Sept. 26, predicted more heavy rainstorms that may lead to serious flooding before October.
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