Lagos State Government has begun relocating waterfront dwellers in the state, following seven days of high waves and an ocean surge.

The surge swept shanties at Kuramo Beach on the edge of Victoria Island on Saturday morning, leading to three deaths so far and 13 persons still missing.

A statement by Mr. Hakeem Bello, the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Babatunde Fashola, on Sunday said the state government ordered the evacuation of the waterfront areas, to avoid more casualties.

He said the state was quite vulnerable, given its low-lying terrain.

Bello quoted the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Segun Oniru, as saying that the process started with the immediate evacuation of Kuramo Beach to make way for movement of sand into the area.

This action, the commissioner explained, had to be taken immediately to avert the disaster of the Atlantic joining the Kuramo Waters and subsequently the Lagoon.
The statement quoted the commissioner as saying that the state was getting the extreme of the current weather condition due to its location.

He noted that other waterfront areas badly affected by the surge and from which people would be expected to move include Badagry and Ojo; Bar Beach; Goshen Estate; Maiyegun; and Alpha Beach.

Oniru added that the state emergency services had already been mobilised to continue to monitor the situation and respond accordingly.