Fear of flood in Lagos

• AfricCon News
  AfricCon Latest Nigerian Report:  Fear of flood in Lagos
  Africcon Media, Nigeria
  
  From: Africcon Media – Nigeria
  
  On Sunday, April 14, 2013 heaven opened its bowel and discharged its liquid content on most parts of Lagos.
  
  It happened at night and the fear of another disaster was high in most residents because after almost four hours of heavy downpour, many parts of the city and the suburbs turned into swimming pools as most places became flooded.  Before the Sunday rainfall, Lagosians had a dose of what to expect this rainy season on April 2. It rained for less than two hours but when it subsided, not a few residents groaned, as water surged into many homes while the streets and major roads including Apapa-Oshodi expressway, were submerged. Residents of the affected areas were able to salvage whatever was left of their household property and resist the intruding flood because it occurred during day.
  
  But according to Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), worse days are still ahead. The agency in its 2013 forecast had warned residents to prepare for worse times than the devastation recorded last year.
  
  The agency’s Director-General, Dr. Anthony Anuforom, hinted in Abuja that, “the rainfall for 2013 would be above normal in comparison with 2012 in the Northern States of Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara and Zamfara, while catchments of River Niger and parts of the Niger Delta have higher chances of even more rainfall this year than previous years.” Consequently, he advised all and sundry to prepare for likely tough times ahead.
  
  Residents get set
  
  Checks by Sunday Sun revealed that the two recent rains in Lagos have sent jitters down the spine of many residents and they have started making frantic efforts to lessen the likely impact of expected flood in their areas when the rainy season goes full throttle. One popular approach to the looming problem across the state, is de-silting of drainages.
  
  Curiously, residents in most places, fund the self-help project. They hire laborers for the job. The various residents associations impose levies on houses and supervise the job, or direct each house to handle the de-silting of its perimeter. It was gathered that in most places, each house pays between N4000 and N5000.
  
  At Ojora Street in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area and Dillion Street in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Sunday Sun  reporter saw men clearing blocked drainages. One of the men supervising the Ojora Street, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the work was necessitated by the fear of the coming rain.
  
  “We have to do it because we hear that the rain this year, will be worse than that of last year. Last year, many places here were flooded. Our expectation is that with this de-silting, the flood will be better checked than we did last year”, he said.
  
  But while residents of these areas are making concerted efforts to guard against possible flooding this year, those in places like Ijora, Makoko and Tolu by waterside, seem to have resigned to fate.
  
  Warning to residents of low-level areas
  
  The Lagos State Government has persistently warned residents of flood-prone areas to relocate ahead of the coming heavy rains. During a sensitization tour of the local government areas, the Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Wale Ahmed, stated that the state expected heavy rainfall this year, and advised residents to vacate such areas to avoid disaster.
  
  Also, the state Commissioner for Environment, Mr Tunji Bello, has repeatedly appealed to residents of the state to be conscious of their environment during and after rainy seasons. He said that the government had developed a map showing the topography of lands in the state to all the chairmen of the 57 Local Government Councils and Local Council Development Areas to enable them sensitize residents in their domains.
  
  “I want to appeal to residents living in flood-prone areas of the state to move immediately. In the first place, they are not supposed to live in these areas. We are expecting heavy rains and naturally, that will come with floods. Though the government has put so many mitigating measures in place, it is essential that these people move to prevent emergency situations”, the commissioner said. He explained that the map was to enable residents know the safe grounds in their areas, and where they are expected to temporarily relocate in times of flooding, adding that government was also carrying out de-silting.
  
  Checks revealed that some of the common lowly places are Agiliti in Ketu Local Government Area, parts of Owode on Ikorodun road, Ijora, Ajegunle in  Olodi-Apapa, Iwaya waterside and Agege.
  
  LASEMA pledges readiness
  
  On its part, the State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has vowed to curtail any emergency by the rains in the state. The General Manager, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the agency was collaborating with all the engineers in the local councils to achieve the objective.
  
  “We are prepared for emergencies as we’ve learnt from the past to prepare for the future. The agency has put in place adequate measures to reduce flood. We have ensured continuous dredging of canals, construction of new primary, secondary and tertiary canals. Our preparedness has yielded results”, he said.
  
  However, the LASEMAA boss urged Lagos residents to desist from blocking canals with refuse, and advised them to contact the residential engineers in their respective local governments for any flooding or emergency.
  
  NEMA calls for campaign
  
  Also, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which is the emergency intervention body at the national level, has strongly warned all stakeholders to take the 2013 weather forecast seriously by embarking on last-minute activities against anything that could turn predicted heavy downpour into sweeping flood in identified towns and cities in the country.
  
  The agency said the warning was due to serious shortcomings noticed during its assessment of the level of preparedness of all segments of the society. The Information Officer of NEMA (South-West Zone), Ibrahim Farinloye, described the level of preparedness as appalling, saying that the residents of the identified areas were not appropriately enlightened and sensitized.
  
  He said that state and local governments are closer to the grassroots, and should mobilize the people towards mitigating possible harsh fall-out of coming heavy rainfall.
  
  “NEMA had embarked on an independent exercise to monitor the state of preparedness of all towards the readiness of the nation against the challenges of climate change which has been taking its tolls on the African society.
  
  NEMA had mobilized all critical stakeholders in the three tiers of government, private sector, individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations immediately after the presentation of 2013 Seasonal Rainfall Predictions (SRP) in series of meetings.
  
  State Governments were fully involved but the outcome of the exercise has left much to be desired” he stated.
  
  Farinloye said that in the South West geo-political zone that includes Lagos, the prediction revealed that Saki and Ibadan in Oyo State, Ondo and Akure in Ondo State and Ijebu Ode in Ogun State would experience excessive rainfall.
  
  According to him, the excessive down pour that may occur in Saki will flow to Lagos as usual while the residents of Ajegunle, Majidun, Odo Ogun and Oke Ogun settlement along Ikorodu road may have high impacts of rainwater running down to their areas from Oyo state.
  
  Farinloye stated that NEMA’s assessment around these areas, especially at Ajegunle, showed that the people were not prepared for the rains because the drainages and water channels were filled with things that could pose serious danger to the residents during normal rainfall.
  
  He noted also that the areas are located in flood-prone area and that the ongoing road rehabilitation has endangered the communities due to creation of craters in some residential areas. “These craters will prevent rainwater in the residential areas from spilling to the stream or the creeks. Instead, the rainwater would be collected in the crater and spill into the residential areas, as water would find its way.
  
  “The Arigbede, Ayinla, Abayomi Ololade, Ondo, Thomas Laniyan, Irawo and Dejibo streets drainages and water channels were fully filled at Ajegunle as at Friday (April 12) when the assessment exercises were concluded in Lagos”, he said.
  
  However, the agency gave kudos to the Lagos state government for its emergency flood abatement activities adding that there would be less negative impacts of flooding in the state if the residents can comply with the rules. The rules, he said, include not sending children on errand while the cloud is heavy for rainfall, stop dumping of waste products on drainages, and water channels among others.
  
  The NEMA West-Zone spokesman said the agency and other stakeholders appealed to Ministries of Health, Environment, Water Resources and Agriculture to mobilize resources for tackling the attendant adverse effects of excessive rainfall such as cholera and spread of malaria that is faster during the period.
  
  “Also, agricultural extension workers and veterinary doctors would be at hand to help farmers in the management of their livestock and plantations against excessive rainfall.
  
  Corporate organizations are enjoined to contribute their quota in risk reduction as disasters do not discriminate,” he added.
  
  Self-help measures
  
  Investigation by Sunday Sun revealed that residents of the Oshodi axis of Lagos are making frantic efforts to forestall possible flooding in the area. These include construction of drainages all over the place.
  
  At the popular Church Street, work was ongoing and parts of the road and some houses had been torn apart. A resident who identified himself simply as Tony told our reporter that the ongoing construction was causing a lot of traffic hold-up, especially during the rush hours.
  
  “I am happy about what the government is doing. I just hope that it will prevent flooding when the rains come. The painful part is that because almost all the roads have been broken down for the construction of drainages, the traffic here these days, has been really terrible.”
  
  When Sunday Sun visited the Arowojobe and the Mafuloko axis of the area, the story was the same. At the Ladipo side of the town, it was discovered that the major road that links Oshodi to Shogunle (Oyegunwa) was blocked to traffic due to ongoing construction of two culverts on that road.
  
  A middle-aged woman, Mrs. Oyedeji, explained why the culverts would be useful during the rainy season. “Whenever it rains, this particular road is usually flooded and vehicles cannot pass through the road. And sometimes, because the road waterlogged, it would be easy for the water to enter people’s houses. Now, the rainwater will be channeled through the culverts down to the canal close by.”
  
  She talked about a new culture of cleanliness among the people living in the area. “You will hardly find people throwing things into the gutters and the canal any longer. In fact, people are more likely to come out for sanitation to clean their gutters than before. I can say that they are becoming more conscious of their environment now.”
  
  Other safety measures
  
  Investigations also revealed that in preparation for the coming rains, people are building shelves in their homes, where they hang valuables such as documents, clothes and jewelries to prevent them from getting damaged in the event of flooding.
  
  We’ve nowhere else to go
  
  Despite warnings by the authorities, particularly Governor Babatunde Fashola who had urged residents of flood-prone areas to relocate, findings by our correspondents showed that the people in this axis were not moved.
  
  A landlord who has been resident in the area for more than two decades, Mr. Femi Oladapo, said: “We have nowhere else to go. Where do I get money to rent another house? The economy has been so bad, and some of the tenants have been defaulting on their rents and you can’t kill them. There is so much hardship in the land.”
  
  Many residents of Oshodi were of the same view. One of them also urged the state government to provide alternative homes for them. “That is the only way out for most of us. We don’t have anywhere else to go if we leave this place”, he stated rather sadly.