Torrential rainfall yesterday left residents of Ajah, Mafoluku and other flood-prone Lagos areas trapped, with homes swamped and access to main roads cut off.
Residents who spoke with our correspondent today asked for urgent government involvement to address the recurrent floods blamed on faulty drainage infrastructure, NAN reports.
Mrs Rukayat, claimed flooding submerged about 200 metres of the road along Muri Okunola Road, Ajah, causing commuters to wade through waist-deep water.
“The water level was about to my lap. “People literally had to walk through it to get home,” she said.
Many drivers turned back, she said, and others left their cars and walked the rest of the way.
“The only way of getting over the water was by walking or on a tricycle. Even then the tricycles broke down and had to be pushed,’ she claimed.
Rukayat claimed other youngsters helped stranded tricycle operators by pushing their vehicles through flooded parts for a charge.
She said people had warned officials repeatedly about the flooding but little had changed.
“We reported this when the rains started, but apparently nothing has been done on the problem,” she stated.
She blamed the flooding on inadequate drainage and likely blockage of a key canal supplying the area.
“There is a big canal here, but I don’t know what is stopping the water from flowing through it properly,” she remarked.
She said that the canal may have been clogged with overgrown vegetation and deposits of sand, limiting its ability to carry away storm water.
She said normally the flood waters would go down after a few hours but parts of the road were still under water.
In Mafoluku, residents stated several streets, houses and access roads were flooded, leaving them unable to return to their homes after their regular routines.
Mrs Iriagbonse Okunkpolor, who lives on Agboola Street, said what was supposed to be a quick excursion for household necessities became a several-hour struggle.
“I was out doing some shopping in the neighbourhood but it just started raining out of nowhere and flooded the whole street.
“I was stuck for hours with no safe way home,” she claimed.
”It was really scary and quite distressing”, said Mr Mukaila Idris another resident.
The current was really strong. “I saw people paying young men to carry them over the water because they were afraid of being washed away or falling,” he claimed.
He said only physically fit residents could safely cross the floodwaters, while many others waited hours for the water to recede.
A resident of the Eyinogun neighbourhood, Mr Williams Ekpo, said the flood went beyond the roadways to residential compounds.
“The floodwater came into our compound and damaged some household items.
“This happens almost every rainy season but it seems that no action is being taken to address the drainage problem,” he said.
The residents appealed to the competent authorities to examine the recurring floods and to upgrade the drainage system to prevent its recurrence during the rainy season.
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