The early morning flood on Tuesday in the Command – Ipaja axis of Lagos state trapped about 151 houses.
Ibrahim Farinloye, Lagos Territorial Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, gave the accurate figures in a statement on Tuesday.
Farinloye said preliminary assessments in some communities affected by the rainfall showed that residents were evacuated from 23 houses at Oke Ishagun.
He said 35 houses were affected at Isale Aboru, 29 houses at Ikola Community, and 15 houses at Olubodun Majiyagbe-Ajayi.
Also affected were 12 houses on Makinde Street, 16 houses on Olokowo Street, and 21 houses on Adeola Street, among others.
Farinloye, who said NEMA was working with appropriate state MDAs to ameliorate the effect of the flood on residents, added that Lagos State had promised to make the state safer for residents.
He said Tuesday’s excessive downpour is a strong signal of what to expect with the outset of 2024 rainfall.
He said it was important to imbibe disaster risk reduction strategies.
“We must begin to adhere to safety measures against flood disasters. Thanks be to God that no life was lost and no one was injured,” Farinloye said.
The Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed, has appealed to Nigerians to start clearing their drainages and desilting them.
Ahmed urged Community Development Associations, CDAs, to be alive to their responsibility by coordinating the activities of neighborhoods towards safer environments.
He appealed to local government authorities to sanction corporate organizations for blocking drainages around their offices.
He added that residents dumping refuse in drainages should be prosecuted for blockage of drainages, dumping of refuse in drainages as envisaged in environmental laws to save society.
The director-general expressed his support to the Lagos State government for its bold decision after the 2023 rainy season when it pulled down structures obstructing drainages across the state.
He urged other state governments to emulate Lagos State by taking bold steps towards making the environment safer.
