NIMET urges residents to help prevent flooding
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) at the weekend, warned Lagos residents to brace up for a seven-day rainfall.
Abayomi Oyegoke of the Agency’s Central Forecast Unit, Oshodi, Lagos, said recent rainfall in the state is setting the stage for the big one that will last a week.
“In the last one week, it appears we are experiencing a prelude to the normal seven days rainfall,” he said.
However, according to Oyegoke, the week-long rainfall will be immediately followed by “a little dry season”, indicating the onset of the “August break”.
He said that the August break signified the first break of the peak of the rainfall over the swamp forest area.
Meanwhile, a total of 570 mm of rainfall has so far been recorded in the state this year, according to Oyegoke.
He added that the State Ministry of the Environment misled the public with its announcement that rain would fall for 238 days in Lagos.
Clarifying the information, Oyegoke explained that the 238 days’ duration was not at a stretch, but the total rainfall in the state.
He however added that the state would experience normal rainfall this year, urging residents to prevent flooding by keeping their surroundings clean.
However, memories of the July 10, 2011 flooding in Lagos appear to still remain fresh in the mind of residents.
Following the rainfall that lasted over 15 hours, some residents were forced out of their homes as many houses in places such as Ogba, Agege, Lekki, and others, were heavily flooded.
A resident, Funmilayo Durojaiye, described the news of a week-long rainfall in the state as “unpleasant”.
