Other states hit, flights cancelled
THE days of the Biblical Noah were almost re-enacted yesterday in Lagos as flood took over the entire metropolis. Panic-stricken residents were forced to move out their belongings to safer areas. It was, indeed, a nightmare for many residents as those who had ventured out were held up on the roads. Many more were holed up in their homes and churches by flooding caused by the heavy downpour, which started in the morning and continued until late into the evening.
Indeed, the Lagos State government issued an official statement advising residents to avoid moving out of their homes.
The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, said: “Today’s (yesterday) downpour has been heavier than normal as the state government had earlier warned. It has been raining since 5 a.m. in many areas and it hasn’t stopped.
Although all the southern states experienced the rainfall, the situation was worse in Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Rivers, Edo, Enugu, Cross River, Anambra and Oyo states, as the rains made movement impossible in most towns in the states.
In Kaduna State, the rain started at 6.50 p.m.
Early risers in Lagos were greeted by a dark, brooding dawn, which was a sign of the soggy and inclement hours for the rest of the day.
The downpour, the longest so far this year, literally shut down Lagos metropolis, forcing people to stay indoors and leaving some major roads and highways flooded.
Churches were half full as worshippers, who had barely begun preparations to go for service when the sky opened, were forced to remain at home. Those who dared the odds to go to the worship centres, find it difficult to return home as the roads were submerged.
After waiting for hours inside their cars, motorists, including women came out of their vehicles to openly answer the call of nature.
The incident also affected air travel. At the local and international wings of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, passengers were stranded as flights were disrupted.
The runway of Lagos airport was flooded, thereby making landing dangerous for any aircraft.
There was gridlock on the ever-busy airport road as cars broke down while many others were submerged.
The MMA2 and the old domestic terminals were filled with stranded passengers.
Air traffic controllers told The Guardian that the rain forced them to divert aircraft to other airports until the runway was drained of flood.
The Apapa-Mile Two-Oshodi Expressway noted for flooding, lived up to its billing as flood more than a kilometre long covered it from Second Rainbow bus stop to the Iyana-Itire stretch.
Only big trucks and articulated vehicles moved at snail-speed on the road. Vehicles broke down in the swirling flood, which covered almost half the height of many brands of cars.
Many commercial vehicles did not come out. Car owners who went out early were trapped in habitually flooded highways such as Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. On both sides of the road, hundreds of vehicles, whose occupants could not gauge the drainage paths, fell into the deep ditches.
Yomare, Anthonia and Uju, three friends who attended the 6.30 a.m. mass at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church, Esado Street, Olodi-Apapa said they had to brave the rain to run home at 8.45 a.m. when worshippers who came for the 8.30 a.m. mass could no longer wait outside for the congregation to leave as the flood swelled outside.
Bello said: “The water level has risen incredibly so that the channels that are meant to discharge water from the roads and drainages are completely locked because of the high tide and because both the Atlantic Ocean and Lagoon that receive water from our channels have risen more than usual.
“Please, be calm and do not panic. Once the rains subside, the water on the roads would gradually disappear. Our men are on the field working to manage this situation,” he said.
The rain also wrecked havocs on the residents of Ondo and other neighbouring towns as property worth millions of naira, were destroyed.
A commercial motorist on the Egbeda-Idimu Road, who simply gave his name as Jamiu, said the heavy downpour prevented him from doing his business. “What can we do to nature? You can see for yourself that there are no passengers outside.”
He lamented the state of drainages, saying: “I don’t know what the local councils are doing. There are no thorough drainages here. The ones we have are blocked.”
A trader in Ondo, Solaide Akinlosotu, also lamented the heavy down pour. Akinlosotu said the rain destroyed many houses and sacked hundreds of residents.
Motorists from Kirikiri Prison area in Apapa and Olodi to the Airport or other parts of Ikeja, took a long detour through Boundary in Ajegunle, Mobile Road, Stadium, and Agege Motor Road or Palmgrove to connect their destinations.
Generally, the visibility was poor. The few vehicles on the roads at about 1.00 p.m. drove very cautiously and switched on their head or hazard lights.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had predicted that Lagos and other coastal states would be seriously flooded during the rains this year.
Medical experts issued alert that the rains usually come with imminent threat of cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid fever, and other water and food-borne diseases.
They also warned that days of heavy flooding could contribute to a resurgence of cholera in Nigeria.
NIMET had in February 2011 released a rainfall forecast, which indicated that the rains will be heavier and earlier this year while its cessation was also predicted to be later than normal.
“This year’s rainfall is put at between 300-1100mm in the north and 1200-2700mm in the south with the predictions expected to have impacts on the agricultural, infrastructure, hydrological and health sectors of the economy,” the agency stated.
Ibadan, the Oyo State capital was flooded following a seven-hour downpour, which disrupted activities in some churches and other places.
The rain, which started at 11 00 a.m. disrupted human and vehicular movements as most of the roads were flooded while commuters had to take refuge and wait endlessly for it to subside.
The streets were deserted as flood took over while some motorists had to make a detour to avoid being caught-up in the flood.
Worst hit were the Bodija-Secretariat Road; Eleyele-Sango Road, UI-Agbowo, Challenge-Molete Road among others.
The rain, which spread to various parts of Osun State caused anxiety among residents. They were worried about the flooding which occurs each time it rains in towns such areas as Osogbo, the state capital and Ilesa.
The rainfall left worshippers stranded in churches while the streets were deserted.
In Ila-Orangun, the torrential rain disrupted the reception organised in honour of the National Chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande over an award given to him by the Osun North East Anglican Diocese.
For the better part of yesterday, residents of Akure, the Ondo State capital witnessed a heavy downpour that lasted for between eight and 10 hours.
The rain started around 2.00 p.m. on Saturday with a mild shower that turned into heavy downpour that lasted throughout the night in most parts of the town and did not subside until late afternoon yesterday.
Although there was light vehicular movement at major roads within the town, the on-going construction works at Oba Adesida/Oyemekun roads, the major transport artery in the metropolis as well as the Arakale Road, led to traffic gridlock as the areas were taken over by flood.
Many residents of Ire-Akari Estate, a sprawling community on Orita-Obele could not leave their homes as the rain washed away the three roads that connected the area to the rest of the town.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had said this year’s rain forecast points to negative impacts on the agricultural, infrastructural, hydrological and health sectors of Nigeria with attendant socio-economic consequences.
At 3.00 p.m. motorists in Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos parked and abandoned their cars because of the torrents of water, which some of them described, “as being too serious to drive through.”
A commercial bus driver blamed the situation on the blocked drainages along the road while others said the government would have to look into the drainage system in the state.
It was same situation at Ikeja bus stop. A portion of about 200 metres of the road was completely flooded. Thousands of residents from Lagos to Ikorodu were stranded between Mile 12 and Owode-Ajegunle. A resident said: “The torrent was so heavy that it was pushing vehicles off the road. Many drivers had to stop and allow it to subside before they continued their journey,”
In Idimu, Egbe, Ilasa, Bariga, and Surelere, noted for flooding, residents were seen battling with the menace. The situation was worse at Akowonjo road Egbeda, where some houses and vehicles were submerged in the flood. Liasu Road was not spared as motorists spent several hours to connect the Council section in Ikotun.
Access from Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja to the local airport was also difficult. Motorists waited for several hours before they could get to their destinations.
The downpour almost marred the canonical visit of the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie to Catholic Church of Resurrection, Magodo.
The church service, which started at 9.00 a.m. was greeted by the rain that did not stop all through the period the ceremony lasted.
Many families in Ajegunle, Amukoko, Orile and its environs will not forget in a hurry the flooding, which sacked their homes yesterday.
The bus fare from Orile to Oshodi usually N100 increased to N200.
In some notoriously flood-prone streets such as Ogungbe, Akinshipe, Owoduni and Alafia in Amukoko and Ajegunle, families were seen relocating their property to neighboring streets as flood took over their homes.
A resident in the Alafia Street, Jimoh Ibrahim, blamed the flood on indiscriminate dumping of refuse and lack of drainage in the street.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayTHE days of the Biblical Noah were almost re-enacted yesterday in Lagos as flood took over the entire metropolis. Panic-stricken residents were forced to move out their belongings to safer areas. It was, indeed, a nightmare for many residents as those who had ventured out were held up on the roads. Many more were holed up in their homes and churches by flooding caused by the heavy downpour, which started in the morning and continued until late into the evening.
Indeed, the Lagos State government issued an official statement advising residents to avoid moving out of their homes.
The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, said: “Today’s (yesterday) downpour has been heavier than normal as the state government had earlier warned. It has been raining since 5 a.m. in many areas and it hasn’t stopped.
Although all the southern states experienced the rainfall, the situation was worse in Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Rivers, Edo, Enugu, Cross River, Anambra and Oyo states, as the rains made movement impossible in most towns in the states.
In Kaduna State, the rain started at 6.50 p.m.
Early risers in Lagos were greeted by a dark, brooding dawn, which was a sign of the soggy and inclement hours for the rest of the day.
The downpour, the longest so far this year, literally shut down Lagos metropolis, forcing people to stay indoors and leaving some major roads and highways flooded.
Churches were half full as worshippers, who had barely begun preparations to go for service when the sky opened, were forced to remain at home. Those who dared the odds to go to the worship centres, find it difficult to return home as the roads were submerged.
After waiting for hours inside their cars, motorists, including women came out of their vehicles to openly answer the call of nature.
The incident also affected air travel. At the local and international wings of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, passengers were stranded as flights were disrupted.
The runway of Lagos airport was flooded, thereby making landing dangerous for any aircraft.
There was gridlock on the ever-busy airport road as cars broke down while many others were submerged.
The MMA2 and the old domestic terminals were filled with stranded passengers.
Air traffic controllers told The Guardian that the rain forced them to divert aircraft to other airports until the runway was drained of flood.
The Apapa-Mile Two-Oshodi Expressway noted for flooding, lived up to its billing as flood more than a kilometre long covered it from Second Rainbow bus stop to the Iyana-Itire stretch.
Only big trucks and articulated vehicles moved at snail-speed on the road. Vehicles broke down in the swirling flood, which covered almost half the height of many brands of cars.
Many commercial vehicles did not come out. Car owners who went out early were trapped in habitually flooded highways such as Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. On both sides of the road, hundreds of vehicles, whose occupants could not gauge the drainage paths, fell into the deep ditches.
Yomare, Anthonia and Uju, three friends who attended the 6.30 a.m. mass at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church, Esado Street, Olodi-Apapa said they had to brave the rain to run home at 8.45 a.m. when worshippers who came for the 8.30 a.m. mass could no longer wait outside for the congregation to leave as the flood swelled outside.
Bello said: “The water level has risen incredibly so that the channels that are meant to discharge water from the roads and drainages are completely locked because of the high tide and because both the Atlantic Ocean and Lagoon that receive water from our channels have risen more than usual.
“Please, be calm and do not panic. Once the rains subside, the water on the roads would gradually disappear. Our men are on the field working to manage this situation,” he said.
The rain also wrecked havocs on the residents of Ondo and other neighbouring towns as property worth millions of naira, were destroyed.
A commercial motorist on the Egbeda-Idimu Road, who simply gave his name as Jamiu, said the heavy downpour prevented him from doing his business. “What can we do to nature? You can see for yourself that there are no passengers outside.”
He lamented the state of drainages, saying: “I don’t know what the local councils are doing. There are no thorough drainages here. The ones we have are blocked.”
A trader in Ondo, Solaide Akinlosotu, also lamented the heavy down pour. Akinlosotu said the rain destroyed many houses and sacked hundreds of residents.
Motorists from Kirikiri Prison area in Apapa and Olodi to the Airport or other parts of Ikeja, took a long detour through Boundary in Ajegunle, Mobile Road, Stadium, and Agege Motor Road or Palmgrove to connect their destinations.
Generally, the visibility was poor. The few vehicles on the roads at about 1.00 p.m. drove very cautiously and switched on their head or hazard lights.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had predicted that Lagos and other coastal states would be seriously flooded during the rains this year.
Medical experts issued alert that the rains usually come with imminent threat of cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid fever, and other water and food-borne diseases.
They also warned that days of heavy flooding could contribute to a resurgence of cholera in Nigeria.
NIMET had in February 2011 released a rainfall forecast, which indicated that the rains will be heavier and earlier this year while its cessation was also predicted to be later than normal.
“This year’s rainfall is put at between 300-1100mm in the north and 1200-2700mm in the south with the predictions expected to have impacts on the agricultural, infrastructure, hydrological and health sectors of the economy,” the agency stated.
Ibadan, the Oyo State capital was flooded following a seven-hour downpour, which disrupted activities in some churches and other places.
The rain, which started at 11 00 a.m. disrupted human and vehicular movements as most of the roads were flooded while commuters had to take refuge and wait endlessly for it to subside.
The streets were deserted as flood took over while some motorists had to make a detour to avoid being caught-up in the flood.
Worst hit were the Bodija-Secretariat Road; Eleyele-Sango Road, UI-Agbowo, Challenge-Molete Road among others.
The rain, which spread to various parts of Osun State caused anxiety among residents. They were worried about the flooding which occurs each time it rains in towns such areas as Osogbo, the state capital and Ilesa.
The rainfall left worshippers stranded in churches while the streets were deserted.
In Ila-Orangun, the torrential rain disrupted the reception organised in honour of the National Chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande over an award given to him by the Osun North East Anglican Diocese.
For the better part of yesterday, residents of Akure, the Ondo State capital witnessed a heavy downpour that lasted for between eight and 10 hours.
The rain started around 2.00 p.m. on Saturday with a mild shower that turned into heavy downpour that lasted throughout the night in most parts of the town and did not subside until late afternoon yesterday.
Although there was light vehicular movement at major roads within the town, the on-going construction works at Oba Adesida/Oyemekun roads, the major transport artery in the metropolis as well as the Arakale Road, led to traffic gridlock as the areas were taken over by flood.
Many residents of Ire-Akari Estate, a sprawling community on Orita-Obele could not leave their homes as the rain washed away the three roads that connected the area to the rest of the town.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had said this year’s rain forecast points to negative impacts on the agricultural, infrastructural, hydrological and health sectors of Nigeria with attendant socio-economic consequences.
At 3.00 p.m. motorists in Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos parked and abandoned their cars because of the torrents of water, which some of them described, “as being too serious to drive through.”
A commercial bus driver blamed the situation on the blocked drainages along the road while others said the government would have to look into the drainage system in the state.
It was same situation at Ikeja bus stop. A portion of about 200 metres of the road was completely flooded. Thousands of residents from Lagos to Ikorodu were stranded between Mile 12 and Owode-Ajegunle. A resident said: “The torrent was so heavy that it was pushing vehicles off the road. Many drivers had to stop and allow it to subside before they continued their journey,”
In Idimu, Egbe, Ilasa, Bariga, and Surelere, noted for flooding, residents were seen battling with the menace. The situation was worse at Akowonjo road Egbeda, where some houses and vehicles were submerged in the flood. Liasu Road was not spared as motorists spent several hours to connect the Council section in Ikotun.
Access from Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja to the local airport was also difficult. Motorists waited for several hours before they could get to their destinations.
The downpour almost marred the canonical visit of the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie to Catholic Church of Resurrection, Magodo.
The church service, which started at 9.00 a.m. was greeted by the rain that did not stop all through the period the ceremony lasted.
Many families in Ajegunle, Amukoko, Orile and its environs will not forget in a hurry the flooding, which sacked their homes yesterday.
The bus fare from Orile to Oshodi usually N100 increased to N200.
In some notoriously flood-prone streets such as Ogungbe, Akinshipe, Owoduni and Alafia in Amukoko and Ajegunle, families were seen relocating their property to neighboring streets as flood took over their homes.
A resident in the Alafia Street, Jimoh Ibrahim, blamed the flood on indiscriminate dumping of refuse and lack of drainage in the street.
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