By DAYO OYEWO

Some parts of Lagos State, on Tuesday morning, were once again submerged by heavy flooding following a downpour that started in the early hours of the day.

The incident occurred weeks after rainfall wreaked havoc in the state.

PUNCH Metro reported that property worth millions of naira were destroyed in the Ikorodu area, which was mostly affected.

The experience on Tuesday was not far from different as major roads and some neighbourhoods in the state were overtaken by floodwaters.

From Ago Palace Way, Okota, to Ikorodu, Akowonjo, and Lekki, residents lamented how their homes and shops had been flooded, leaving them stranded.

In a viral video sighted by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, Alhaji Idowu Street in the Akowonjo area was filled with water.

“This is just three hours of rain, and everywhere is flooded. When it is not as if the people living here are not humans. This is just too bad,” a resident in the area lamented.

It was a similar sight in the Okota area of the state as vehicles were seen moving at a slow pace on both sides of the already flooded Ago Palace Way.

In a video sent to our correspondent by a resident of Osapa London in the Lekki area, the roads linking estates in the neighbourhood were also flooded at different points.

The resident, identified simply as Mustapha, said, “When the rain started this morning, I knew there was no going out for me today. I have been indoors all day. There were some points in the flood where the water would almost flow into your vehicle, and I couldn’t take that risk. I took it before, but not again. Even Uber drivers don’t want to come to this side of our place because of the damage the flood does to their vehicles.”

Motorists and pedestrians were also trapped in the gridlock that built up on several flooded highways. In some areas, vehicles broke down on the waterlogged roads, worsening the situation for commuters rushing to work.

Sharing her experience, a pedestrian, Mojisola Ajisafe, lamented how the flood on the road linking Agege to Ogba and Wempco Road affected vehicular movement along the area.

According to her, vehicles were at a point forced to a halt when the road became almost impassable due to the flood.

“The T-junction by the Mobil filling station was heavily flooded as some vehicles did not move at all. They had to wait for some time for the water to reduce, except for some SUVs and commercial buses. This caused a lot of traffic and even made the resume late to the office.”

It was another nightmare for Ikorodu residents as another resident sent a video to PUNCH Metro, which showed some flooded areas in the community.

Commercial drivers plying the Egbeda-Idimu area also lamented as flood took over some parts of the road. They also called for the intervention of the state government.

One of them, who identified himself simply as Saheed, told PUNCH Metro, “This is not the first time we are complaining about flooding in this area. It is already getting out of hand. The government needs to find a permanent solution to it.”

The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunboh Wahab, said on August 4 via his X handle that the state government had resilient systems in place to manage flash floods, but the sheer volume of rainfall may temporarily overwhelm some drainage channels.

“As a coastal city, Lagos is naturally vulnerable to tidal lock-up when rising water levels in the lagoon slow down the discharge of runoff. This is further worsened by climate change. We are closely monitoring areas near rivers and lagoons, which are at higher risk of flash floods with strong currents,” he added.

The spokesperson for the ministry, Adekunle Adeshina, did not respond to calls made to his telephone line on Tuesday. A text message sent to him had yet to be responded to as of the time this report was filed.(Punch)

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