The Lagos State Government has raised an alarm of renewed threats of flash flood in the state following the intensity of rainfall experienced in the state on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
The government described Thursday’s downpour as the heaviest in many months.
The state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, said this in a statement issued on Saturday, October 19.
Wahab said the present situation was coupled with the release of water by the authorities of Oyan Dam.
“The channels could no longer discharge into the rivers,” he said.
He said the intensity of the rainfalls between Wednesday and Thursday had led to the levels of the major rivers rising.
“This is making it difficult for the major drainage channels to discharge until it goes down which is just happening gradually,” Wahab said.
Wahab said the latest flash flood advisory became necessary in view of the fact that the various data gathered from the weather monitoring stations showed that Thursday’s average and maximum values were the highest.
“In the past few weeks, the overall conditions observed show there is a drastic increase in water level at our four gauge stations within the state.
“We are aware that Ogun Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) is releasing water from two gates of the Oyan Dam as announced earlier.
“A few days ago, at Kara (calibrated), the water level recorded 2.2m and which most likely might hit the threshold any time soon.
“At Isheri-North GRA, the water level recorded 20.02m which is above the flood threshold. These shows that the catchment areas along these axes are already experiencing river flooding.
“At Majidun, in the whole year, the peak water level was recorded on the October 14 at 1.466m while the minimum value was at 0.538m.
“At Falomo, with the incessant rainfall coupled with water releases from the OORBDA, both upstream and downstream of Lagos State will definitely experience flooding along the corridors,” Wahab said.
The commissioner noted that data available for the year showed that the month of October had much higher readings compared to previous months.
Wahab added that minutes and hourly readings for October showed consistently heightened water level readings when compared to previous months and other years.
He advised people living in low lying areas and the banks of the Ogun River to put their safety first by moving upland and prevent avoidable loss of lives and properties.
Wahab, however, warned that the state would still experience more rainfalls this month.
By Fabian Ekeruche
