1st July, 2013
The Lagos State Government has warned residents living in flood-prone areas to vacate as heavy rainfall with thunderstorms is expected this month.
Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, who said this on Sunday, stated that the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NIMETs has predicted heavy rainfall in Lagos in July and that everyone should be on the alert.
The commissioner specifically advised people residing along flood plains, low line areas and other coastlines, like Ajegunle, Owode-Onirin axis, Owode-Elelede, Kuramo Beach, Alpha Beach, Okun-Mapo, Okun Ajah, Mende-Maryland, Ijora-Badia, Iwaya and other low line areas to get ready to relocate to avert disaster.
According to him, residents of such areas must be extremely careful and might need to vacate their residence temporarily once they notice gradual accumulation of water and move to higher grounds as the state is not ready to lose any life during the rainy period.
“As the intensity of the rain increases in July, Lagosians are advised not to panic whenever it rains as they will start to experience accumulated water concentration on some parts of the roads and highways, depending on the intensity of the rains. Lagosians are assured that the accumulated water will recede in no time,” he said.
He explained that it had been raining since January and that this had increased the water level of the soil, thereby making infiltration capacity to be very low across the state.
This, he said, had led to the saturation of the soil, which will henceforth cause delayed discharge of rain water into the water bodies.
The commissioner, however, assured that flashfloods recorded during the rains would gradually be discharged in less than 24 hours because of the effectiveness of the state’s drainage channels.
The commissioner further explained that “Lagos is a coastal state and it is susceptible to flash flood anytime there is rain of high intensity. However, what is of utmost importance to this administration is to ensure that whatever flash flood experienced is effectively discharged into our channels that have been dredged and cleaned, in anticipation of this year’s rains.
“Lagos residents are further encouraged to relate effectively with deployed Resident Engineers and Drainage Maintenance Officers whose phone numbers were recently published in the print and electronic media for members of the public to urgently alert them whenever they have flooding challenges.”
On the safety tips to be adopted during the rains, Bello urged Lagosians to be safety conscious during this period and avoid going out during the rains except only when it is compulsory and be conscious when driving and must not over speed.
“Ensure that your vehicles are in good condition. Do not drive through flooded areas as it might be difficult to identify the depth,” he appealed.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga