12th July, 2011
The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria has sent a message of condolence to victims of the unprecedented flooding in Lagos on Sunday and indeed to all Lagosians over the flooding experience.
The party said it shares the grief of many Lagosians that were subjected to the harrowing effects of the day-long torrential rainfall and added that the Lagos State government is committed to avoiding a repeat experience. In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said it was a thing of joy that the flood is gradually easing off few hours after the rain and that the Lagos State government environmental officials worked through the flood to ease the situation.
“We are alarmed that what is turning out to be global scourge of flooding is hitting Lagos and many other parts of the country with the kind of force we all experienced on Sunday.
“That rain started as early as 5a.m. in some parts of Lagos and lasted well into the early hours of Monday is an unprecedented experience that was worsened by the volume of the rains. We were concerned, as the rains poured down uncontrollably, about the fate of the nearly 20 million Lagosians.
“We recall that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NMA) had issued a warning to Lagosians to prepare themselves for heavy rainfall this year given its coastal nature but we never fathomed the level of Sunday’s rainfall and we fear that we might experience such incidences in the days ahead. This then requires all Lagosians to be on the watch out and do everything in their respective local areas to free drainage accesses and avoid being caught in the throes of another flood.
“We want to alert Lagosians that flooding has become a frightening global scourge and the experiences we have seen in recent times from all over America , Europe, Asia and other parts of Africa should inform us that all of us have roles to play in preventing a worse experience in the days ahead.
‘We want to let Lagosians know that the rains yesterday precipitated a record rise in the water level of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Lagos lagoon, which made drainage quite difficult. We thank God that it did not degenerate to a critical level, as we have been seeing in some parts of the world.
“We want to point out that several projects are going on in Lagos roads and drainage system at present and we regret that most Lagosians still consciously block the drainages, the canals and the water channels, which makes flooding a present danger we all must work hard to prevent.