For so long, Lagos state has had its issues with flood despite government and residents effort to combat the flooding that characterizes the rainy season.
While some parts of Lagos have been able to find respite, many others still wallow in agony over the effect of continuous flooding in their areas.
A few suburbs of Lagos do not really have a problem with the rains, but most of the others on the mainland and deep into the hinter lands experience much flooding when the rainy season gets into full gear.
Life within these places become very unbearable for those who live within these areas, their worries range from the embarrassment the floods cause them. For some, friends and family cannot visit them due to the road situation, for others there are fears that they might wake soon to see themselves afloat in their rooms. As the floods are becoming that catastrophic.
Below photos explain what Lagosians who live in flood prone area go through when it rains:
Following the devastating effect of floods across Lagos in these areas, the Lagos state government, through the Ministry of Environment, a couple of months ago warned all residents in the state to be careful in their waste disposal and sanitation so as to help control the possible flood crisis that has been predicted by the Environmental and Climate Change Management Organization this year.
Meanwhile, flooding and the devastating loss that accompanies its occurrence, is not peculiar to Nigeria – it is a phenomenon leaving communities with monumental losses in other parts of the world, too.
Countries like India and Tanzania for example, record massive loss of lives and property.
Engineers say that uncompleted and abandoned drainage channels in most communities across Lagos must be fixed to avert further flooding and tragedy. They explain that the illegal dumping of refuse on the road and drainage channels is one of the factors fueling the flood crisis in Nigeria.
If all the abandoned drainage systems are properly fixed, then they would help channel water into the lagoon and eased the sufferings which many Lagosians face.
Urban and regional planners say that the irregularities in building plots and lack of planning in the development of certain areas in Lagos, are factors that add to the flooding problems. The notion is that many people just put up structures wherever they deem fit, without regard to what plans the government has mapped out for the area.
The rains are here again, and for residents within the flooding areas of Lagos, life is already becoming one hell of a place, the government and the agencies concerned with environmental issues must see to it that the troubles of these people are alleviated.
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