One Feared Killed As Flood Wreaks Havoc In Lagos Estate
One person was feared killed as flood wreaked havoc at Gate House, Gold Crescent, Lagos State Development and Property Corporation Bungalow Scheme, Oke Afa, Isolo, Lagos.
The residents expressed fear over flooding that continually threatened the safety of lives and property within the estate.
The Chairman, Gold Crescent, Jakande Estate, Emmanuel Ezeugo, said residents had been living in hell for a long time with no help in sight.
The chairman on Tuesday, said, “It’s a very pathetic problem here. We’ve always had flooding. Whenever it rains, the flood enters people’s homes. It’s been worse since 2007.
“The water from other canals all the way from Idimu is channelled to our street. The canal is just after our street. Sometimes, when there’s no single drop of rain, there will still be a raging flood.
“A woman known as Mama Mary died in the flood two years ago. The Friday rain carried a corpse through our street to the canal. It carried a man’s vehicle to a distance of about 67km before an obstruction blocked it. Nobody could go out on this street after Tuesday’s rain. It’s an ecological disaster here.”
The chairman noted that although no one had come forward within the estate to tell them they lost somebody, he, however, said the corpse could not be identified as it was washed into the canal.
“We don’t know who the person is, but a fair skinned corpse was seen,” he said.
In a video of the Tuesday flood taken by a resident, Chris Dike, people were seen standing as the raging flood left many of them stranded.
Our correspondent also observed that the road within the estate was not motorable as the persistent flooding had caused severe damage to the roads. The residents called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government to come to their aid.
“This is our situation; the government should help our souls before more lives are lost. We already lost property to the flood. Tuesday’s flood was very pathetic,” another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
The estate chairman, Ezeugo, noted that the estate leadership had gone to the LSDPC (owners of the estate) and the state Ministry of Works as well as other agencies several times but nothing had been done.
Three letters sighted by our correspondent dated 2020 were written by the estate leadership to the LSDPC, the state Public Works Corporation and the Governor’s Office.