Muritala Ayinla 
Vacate now, govt tells flood-prone areas’ residents
Flood has swept away a 17-year- old girl, identified as Ayisat, at the Alapafuja axis of the Surulere Low-Cost Housing Estate, Lagos. The incident occurred on Monday following downpour in parts of the state. This came a few days after a flood swept away a four-year-girl in Lagos. But the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said it had commenced a search and rescue operation for the missing teenager. The LASEMA Director-General (DG), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, told New Telegraph that Ayisat went missing during the flooding which followed the Monday downpour.
The DG added that the search and rescue operation by the agency, which commenced immediately the distress alert was received, led to the ongoing thorough search of all major and minor categories of drains and drainage canals in and around Alapafuja axis of the Surulere Low-Cost Housing Estate in Surulere Local Government Area, Lagos.
He said: “Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, it was discovered that the canal along Alapafuja close linking Bank Olemoh was submerged as a result of flooding and a teenage girl named Ayisat was swept away by the flood about 12:30p.m. on Monday. However, her body could not be found as the LASEMA Response Team (LRT) searched through the adjoining canals. Operation suspended till morning.” According to him, past experience has proven that strong floods have been known to transfer victims far from incident scenes.
Osanyintolu urged parents and guardians to ensure adequate safety of their children, wards and young adults by insisting and restraining them indoors during rainfalls and away from flood. Flood, according to him, has been known to sweep away articulated vehicles and even demolish buildings where the flood strength and speeds are strong enough. Meanwhile, the Lagos State government yesterday warned those living in the flood-prone areas to immediately vacate their houses as more intense rainfall is expected.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, who gave the warning, said Oyan River Dam might also be released soon. Bello said the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority would begin a gradual release of 67 million cubic metres of water in batches.
He said five million cubic metres and eight to 10 million cubic metres would be released in July and August respectively. The commissioner added that 18 million cubic metres and 23 million would be released in September and October respectively with 11 million cubic metres the following month which, according to him, will mark the gradual reduction of the water to be released. Consequently, Bello urged those in the low lying areas to vacate their houses when rain starts to avoid being trapped or possibly losing their lives in the flood.
The commissioner spoke on the activities of the state government to tackle flooding and avert imminent danger arising from possible more cases of flooding. According to him, more rainfalls are still being expected going by the experts’ prediction. Bello said the Nigerian Meteorological Services (NIMET) had earlier predicted intense rainfall.
The commissioner, therefore, called on the people to be safety conscious and be mindful of their environment by desisting from indiscriminate waste dumping. He said: “Now we are once again using this medium to sound a note of warning to those engaging in these unwholesome acts to desist because if they are caught, we will ensure that they are diligently prosecuted. “We have given clear instructions to all enforcement agents not to treat environmental and sanitation offenders with kid gloves anymore. Anyone arrested should be made to face the full weight of the law.
“We are also stepping up our drainage compliance enforcements to ensure that we remove all infractions after serving due notices on them. Enough is enough.” Commiserating with families of those who were reportedly swept away by the flood, Bello warned those living in the flood-prone areas to vacate their premises so as not to become victims of flood. He added: “All residents who live within low lying areas must always vacate their houses when rain starts. This is because no one can determine the volume or intensity of rainfall when it starts.
“What should be uppermost in the minds of such people is that if they wait until the rainfall ceases or subsides they may be trapped and unable to move or may not even be alive to tell the story. “It is advisable that such people may only return after the rainfall while ensuring that minors and young ones are secured and restrained from going during downpours as they run the risk of sustaining injuries or even falling into ditches which may result in loss of lives. “It is important to state that for a coastal city like Lagos once it rains consistently for a minimum of eight hours, we are bound to have flash floods caused by the high rise of the lagoon which is brought about by a rise of the ocean waters. This will automatically lock up all our drainages and until the water level goes down, the drainages would be unable to discharge. “This is the new wave in most coastal cities around the world including those who have adopted the best of technological advancements to contain flooding.” On the gradual release of the dam water, Bello said dwellers around River Ogun should also prepare for the immense flooding. According to him, the designed capacity of the dam is 270 million cubic metres with an annual runoff of 1770mc3. He said: “The dam is opened yearly as a mitigating effort to create space for the storm water to have maximum deployment. “The amount of water released yearly is determined by the combination of index of SRP and AFC and hydrological database of Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA).
