Lagos Island and part of Lagos Harbour, taken from close to Victoria Island, looking north-west. Wikipedia. Photograph by Benji Robertson, world66.com .

Date / time: 13/02/2012 11:57:22 [UTC]
Event: Extreme Weather
Area: Africa
Country: Nigeria
State/County: State of Lagos
Location: Lagos City
Number of Deads: 1 person

Description:

At least one person was killed Monday and several injured when a freak storm hit Nigeria's economic capital Lagos, local media reported. Torrential rain and strong winds pounded the city in the early hours of Monday morning, local media reported. A roof caved in at the University of Lagos and billboards, antennas and street lights came down. Roofs were blown off homes and roads were blocked by falling debris, leaving many commuters unable to travel to work. One person died when a telecoms mast fell on top of him in the Gordon Barracks part of the city, according to the Lagos-based Daily Times. Nigeria's spring rains do not usually begin until March, but weather conditions across the whole of West Africa are increasingly unpredictable due to the effects of climate change. The entire region has recently been hit by unusually strong harmattan winds, bringing sand and dust from the Sahara desert to the tropical and Sahel belts.