In Ibadan, the rain started
in some areas on Monday evening and continued until early Tuesday.
In other parts of the city,
the rain began in the middle of the night till around 9am on Tuesday.
Several houses, church
buildings and cars were submerged after a downpour in Ibadan, Oyo State, on
Tuesday.
This is just as many residents
of Owerri, Imo State, were left devastated after floods destroyed their houses
and goods.
Most of the affected areas
were located close to the banks of some rivers, including Orogun, Akinyele,
Onipepeye on Old Ife Road, Dandaru Junction on Mokola/UCH Road and Olodo.
One of our correspondents
visited some of the flooded areas and observed that many residents were trapped
in their houses by the floods.
While many of them stood on
elevated makeshift platforms in front of their homes, others took refuge on
rooftops and higher floors of their houses.
In Orogun, a church
building was submerged in water. Despite efforts of men of the Nigeria Security
and Civil Defence Corps to bring those trapped in the house of God to safety,
they said they preferred to stay on an elevated platform until the water
subsided.
At the Onipepeye area on
Old Ife Road, many houses were affected as the water swept several cars from
where they were parked.
Some of the affected owners
of the houses blamed residents who dumped rubbish into the rivers and streams
in their areas for the incident.
They also called on the
state government to enforce the state environmental law.
Other residents blamed the
government for sacking private waste management companies with no alternative
arrangement.
The state Commissioner for
the Environment and Water Resources, Adisa Isola, said the government made
efforts to avert the incident.
He blamed the flooding on
those who built houses and shops on water channels.
He said, “Many people are
complying with environmental laws in the state now. We started preparing for
this in December 2016 through a World Bank assisted project. Fourteen rivers
and streams were dredged. This year, we have dredged 36 streams and rivers.
“This cannot be repeated
every year because it is just a palliative measure. That is why we are working
on three master plans for Ibadan that will take care of this issue.
“The attitude of our people
is responsible for this flooding. They have refused to obey the setback rules
and instead, they build houses on river channels. It puts pressure on the
drainage channels.”
The Public Relations
Officer of the Oyo State Command of the NSCDC, Oluwole Olusegun, told our
correspondent that a team, led by the state commandant, John Adewoye, rescued
many people who were trapped in the floods.
He said, “Due to the heavy
rain in the early hours of today
(Tuesday), many rivers overflowed their boundaries. The officers and men
of the NSCDC, led by the state commandant, John Adewoye, cordoned some roads
off in order to rescue people.
“Some people were, however,
adamant on staying in their homes until the water subsided.”
In Owerri, the rain which
started at about 3.30pm and ended about 5.01pm on Monday forced traders to
close shops, while some residents were trapped in residential buildings.
A trader, Mr. Isdore Okeukwu, who had a shop
on Chikwere Street, said all his goods were destroyed.
He attributed the flooding
to the poor drainage channels in the capital city.
Okeukwu said, “The drainage channels are all
blocked, but the government has not made any effort to clear them.
“Rubble from destroyed
property along the roads in the name of urban renewal projects also blocked the
drainage channels, leading to this mess.”
A resident of the capital city, Mrs. Juliet
Ndiagaba, told our correspondent that she had been rendered homeless.
Ndiagaba, a widow, said, “My bed, TV, files
and other valuables were destroyed by the flood.”
She told PUNCH Metro that she went to work,
adding that by the time she came back, her apartment had been flooded.
She said, “My children are on mid-term break
and they have been in the house of my elder brother for the one-week break, no
person was around to save any property.”
A senior officer of the Imo State
Environmental Transformation Commission, who requested that his name should not
be mentioned, said the flooding was due
to lack of adequate drainage system.
“The high level of destruction of property and
roads in the metropolis also caused the flooding. Everywhere had been blocked
by the rubble from property destroyed for urban renewal projects.”
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