Coping With Rainy Season in Lagos

By Fagbohun Oluwatobi

Source: Google

Rain is considered a major blessing of nature. In rural Africa, where farming is a major preoccupation, the coming of the rains brings joy to farmers. However, like other natural blessings, rains could become a problem when in excess and with horrendous effects.

The previous year was particularly bad news for the world in terms of the volume of rains experienced and its attendant consequences. For instance, millions of people were displaced by deadly floods resulting from torrential rains in China, Australia, Japan, the United States of America, Indonesia and Brazil. In Australia, in particular, torrential rainfall bought the whole nation to its knees with major flooding, damaging winds and dangerous waves and severe thunderstorms.

The Lagos landscape is essentially made up of low-lying terrain up to 0.4 per cent below sea level. Understanding this scenario is quite crucial to the overall perception of Lagos flooding concern.

According to the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which monitors global weather, the rains will be more ferocious this year. This is, perhaps, why the Lagos state recently alerted residents to an imminent rainfall between 238 and 261 days in 2021

Therefore, now that the rains are here, Lagos residents must desist from all human activities that could aid flooding. Actions, such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse, trading on drainage channels, and building of structures on drainage alignments, road setbacks and verges among others, should be avoided.

Lagosians must embrace positive attitudes towards the environment. They need to be more affirmative concerning proper waste disposal, compliance with building regulations, embracing alternative energy use and paying necessary attention to sanitation issues.

Those living in flood-prone areas as identified by the government must seek alternative accommodation.

With the prediction by experts that Lagos might witness more rains this year, all hands must be on deck to avoid needless stress and negative repercussion. The Federal Government through its agencies should collaborate with states with peculiar flooding challenges to determine areas of assistance. This must be done as a regular preventive measure, and not after the havoc has been done.

It is reassuring that the government is committed to a cleaner environment and quality public health. It is demonstrating this through the implementation of community-based solid waste management, flood control, improved sanitation, control of environmental pollution (air, water and noise), beautification and advertisement control.

Those living in flood-prone areas as identified by the government must seek alternative accommodation.

The government's approach to tackling flooding is multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. It includes dredging, massive construction and expansion of drainage channels, desilting and excavation of silts to dumpsites, regular repair, clearing and cleaning of drainages, canals and collector drain across the state.

Similarly, the government has established synergy and partnership with the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority and this has ensured control and monitoring of the steady and systematic water release from Oyan Dam to prevent flooding of the downstream communities.

Being a natural occurrence, no known scientific device is capable of stopping rain. It is, however, possible to mitigate its adverse effects, if we resolve to do the right things. Therefore, to mitigate the effects of the rains this year, we must all work together and do the needful. Together we can make our society a safer and better place to live.