The Lagos State Government has alerted its residents to prepare for flooding in the month of September.
It was gathered that the state government’s message came after the release of an updated 2023 Water Releases Forecast for Flood Control by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority.
The permanent secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, Lekan Shodeinde, in a statement on Sunday, September 3, listed the areas to be affected as follows:
- Alagbole
- Meiran
- Maidan
- Kara
- Isheri-Olowora
- Agiliti
- Owode-Onirin
- Owode-Elede
- Agboyi I
- Agboyi II
- Ajegunle
- Itowolo
- Majidun
- Ibeshe
- Baiyeku
- Lekki-Ajah
Shodeinde urged residents and property owners in the areas to be ready to move upland when the water level rises showing signs of flooding.
He disclosed that the total amount of Rainfall recorded from January to August 2023 (1,128.6mm) is higher than that of January to August of the year 2021 (713.4mm) & 2022 (848.1mm).
The permanent secretary said comparatively, a total of 968.6mm was recorded as amount of rainfall for the 12 months of 2021, just as a total of 1,140 mm was the recorded amount of rainfall during the 12 months of 2022, while in the first 8 months of 2023, a quantum of 1,128.6mm has already been recorded which means when the remaining four months in the year is factored in’, a very high intensity of rainfall would be recorded for the whole year.
Shodeinde said: “When some of the other figures released by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority is further scrutinized for volume of water spilled, it shows that for the 12 months of 2021, 1,102mcm was spilled, while for the 12 months of 2022, a total of 1,475.6 mcm was spilled, while in the first eight months of this year, a total of 1,393,1mcm has already been spilled by the River Basin Authority pointing in the direction that more water will be released when factored with the remaining four months in 2023.”
He added that the water levels of all tributaries including the Oyan Dam are rising and is one of the contributory factors to the possibility of the likely flooding at downstream flow of Ogun River.
