Lagos residents lament as floods cripple activities

Some Lagos residents have lamented restricted movement and crippled activities due to the flooding witnessed in the state following persistent rainfall.

The residents spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos, following the early morning rains that resulted in floods in some parts of the state.

Gideon Adarugo, a resident of Abule-Osun, Ojo, in the state, said that floods have overrun the drainage in the area.

“Everywhere is flooded, we have been evacuating water from our premises since the rain started.

“If the rain continues in the next two hours, our gutters will overrun and we do not know what to do. It is a swampy area but we have not had it this bad in recent times.

“We hope the water stops rising as soon as the rain stops,” Mr Adarugo said.

Temitope Babalola, a resident of Lambe street in the Egbeda area of the state, said the flood has grounded activities in the area as school pupils were advised to stay back home.

“The flood is massive in our area, even last week, the water seeped into our home. We had to bail it out.

“It is a complete shutdown for us as the children are unable to go to school due to persistent rain of today and the consequent flooding of the entire street.

“Some private school authorities in the neighbourhood called parents to keep their wards back home due to the floods.

“Vehicles are unable to navigate their way through the flood, we are all indoors hoping the rains will stop falling soon.

“Jimoh bus stop, Akowonjo area and Shasha axis are currently flooded, even for vehicular movements,” Mr Babalola said.

On her part, Tina Otibho, a resident of Gbagada, said the flood stopped her and other road commuters from going to work.

“The Gbagada/Oworonshoki expressway is currently flooded and we cannot access the third mainland bridge to the island.

“The canals in the area are over flooded and are seeping into the houses in the area.

“We just hope the rain does not persist, or else we will all be grounded for a while,” Mrs Otibho said.

A resident of Ojo barracks, Glory Micheal, said the whole area has been flooded since the rain commenced.

“The whole neighbourhood is currently flooded since the rain began in the early hours of the day. We have been scooping water out of our houses to keep the flood out.

“We hope the rain does not persist or else we may be at the brink of losing properties to the flood.

“The drainage in the area is overflowing, and with the torrent of the rain, we may experience this flood for some days,” Ms Michael said.

Also, Collins Ani, a trader at the popular GL market at Trade Fair, said that the flood at the Underbridge bus stop has doubled in size.

“Our customers are finding it hard to access the market due to the flood at the bus stop.

“It has been a hectic day, and vehicular movement is difficult to navigate into the market due to the flood and bad roads.

“We hope the rain does not continue like this, or we will not be able to enjoy sales as usual,” Mr Ani added.

Another resident, Lara Ashaolu, said the flood at Ayobo was minimal compared to the ones they experienced earlier in the year.

Ms Ashaolu, however, said that some streets in the area were completely flooded, and residents could not go about their usual activities.

(NAN)