About 151 houses within the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos were submerged in floods following excessive rainfall.
Some of the communities affected by the downpour are Oke Ishagun, Isale Aboru, Ikola Community, Olubodun Majiyagbe – Ajayi, Makinde Street, Olokowo Street and Adeola Street.
Also, the bridge at Ajasa Command was overrun by flooding.
When Vanguard arrived at the scene on Tuesday, officials of NEMA, the Fire Service and the Police were seen rescuing individuals who were trapped.
Although no life was lost and no one was injured, many residents have been displaced from their homes at the moment. The normal lives of the people in the affected communities have been disrupted.
Meanwhile, the flood has started receding, though the Command Bridge is still submerged.
Residents of the Command Area were urged to take alternative routes by avoiding Ajasa Command and the nearby areas as floods overran the bridge.
Confirming the incident, the South West Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, said, “23 houses were evacuated in Oke Ishagun community, 35 houses in Isale Aboru community, and 29 houses were affected in Ikola Community 15 houses in Olubodun Majiyagbe – Ajayi community, 12 houses at Makinde Street, 16 houses from Olokowo Street, and 21 houses in Adeola Street were affected.”
Explaining further, Farinloye said, “In view of today’s excessive rainfall and Sunday’s similar event, Nigerians have been urged to notice the very strong signal of what may unfold upon the onset of 2024 rainfall.
“It is important to imbibe the culture of disaster risk reduction strategies in all spheres of our societal endeavours.”
Encouraging residents, Farinloye said: “We must begin to adhere to safety measures against flood disasters.”
“NEMA is working with appropriate state MDAs to ameliorate observations and findings from today’s incident, and the state has promised to make sure no stone is left unturned to make the state safer.”
However, the Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed, hereby appeals to Nigerians to start clearing their drainages of dirt and desilting them.
Community Development Associations should live up to their responsibility in coordinating the activities of neighbourhoods toward safer environments.
Local government authorities must not spare the rods against corporate organisations blocking the drainages, while people must be prosecuted for blockage of drainages, dumping of refuse in drainages as envisaged in environmental laws to save society.
The Director General expressed his support for the Lagos State Government’s bold decision after the 2023 rainy season to pull down drainage obstructing structures across various parts of the state.
He urged other state governments to emulate Lagos State’s good example in taking bold steps towards making our environment safer with the difficult actions that will ensure the safety of the lives and property of Nigerians in Lagos State.
In addition, the NIMET 2024 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction may be released soon.