By Linus Akomolafe
Major communities in Lagos was on Friday hit by downpour which lasted for about four hours.
The torrential downpour, which started about 12pm, was said to have dislodged residents, traders, and submerged cars, tricycle, business premises in the State.
Mostly affected were residents living at Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ikeja, Oshodi, Shogunle, Ladipo and inward mainland, where flood over-ran buildings and destroyed property worth millions of naira.
One of the victims, Charity Onuche told Ikeja Bird that lack of good drainage system in the area caused the flood which ravaged her property.
“I just went out to see the level of the rainfall and I was shocked to see that the water has entered our compound. When I ran into our sitting room everywhere was filled with water. The drainage system in Shogunle is bad and this will continue if the council don’t fix them,” she said.
A trader in Afijalo market, Oshodi, where the flood destrupted commercial activities, revealed that the erosion from the streets had massed with the shallow canal, which resulted in a fast-flowing flood that ravaged the area.
Mrs. Shakirat Akinyemi said: “the canal is not deep and we have always been calling on the local government authorities to do something about it. They have never resolved this problem since we have been complaining. The flood from the streets with the shallow canal is what is causing this problem and wherever it rains we don’t get customers and that is the reason why most stores are empty.”
Another trader who identified herself as Mrs. Harrison noted that the flood was the first of its kind in recent years.
For residents and employees working on the Island the experience was different as most parking lots were flooded while road network from Obalande to Ikoyi were unmotorable.
Motorists who said to have defied the rain were shocked to see the roads flooded as vehicles suddenly plunged into drainages.
Meanwhile, On April 14, the Lagos State Government predicted high intensity of rainfall of 261 days this year, with an attendant flooding across the state.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello at a media briefing on ‘2021 Seasonal Climate Predictions and Socio-Economic Implications for Lagos State’ gave flood alert and directed residents in coastal and low-lying wetland areas to move upland in order to avert avoidable loss of lives and properties.
He said: “Lagos State shall experience a rainy season of 238-261 days, while Maximum Annual Rainfall Amount is predicted to be 1747 mm. It is also expected that the increasing frequency of extreme weather events indicate that year 2021 will likely experience days with extremely high rainfall amounts which may result in flooding.”
