Business activities were grounded in Lagos as residents and motorists suffered the impact of an early morning torrential rainstorm that caused traffic jams.
The rapid floods damaged roads and inundated several homes throughout the city.
Recall that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, projected thundery and rainy weather across the country from Monday to Wednesday, warning of potential flash floods in some locations.
NiMet’s weather forecast, announced on Sunday in Abuja, predicted morning thunderstorms on Monday with moderate precipitation in Adamawa, Taraba, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Jigawa, Kano, and Katsina in the northern area, as well as in Lagos.
The agency forecasted cloudy skies over the southern region with chances of light rain over parts of Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Lagos, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa states during the morning hours.
According to NiMet, light rains are expected over parts of Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Lagos, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom States later in the day.
The agency envisaged the high possibility of floods occurring over parts of Oyo, Ogun, Edo, and Delta States during the forecast period. However, yesterday’s rainfall left many motorists and commuters, who dared to move out, stranded for hours on major roads in the metropolis due to the flooded roads and streets.
The rain, which started at about midnight and continued into the early morning, continued intermittently on Monday. It witnessed heavily flooded roads on both the island and mainland sides of the state.
Chronicle NG gathered that while traffic on some of the roads was at a standstill during the rain, some others witnessed slow movement as motorists struggled to wade through the flash floods.
A motorist, who identified simply as Alhaji Abu, said commuters had a hectic time navigating through the flooded road of the Odo Iya Alaro Bridge in Ikorodu, Lagos, at about 5 am, which was heavily flooded.
Abu said, “Since the flood had covered all the potholes on the road, motorists had to be cautious not to be stranded inside the flood.”
Our correspondent saw many broken-down vehicles stuck in the flood.
The flood-related traffic expanded to the Ikotun and Igando roads in Oworosonki.
Motorists on the highway were seen travelling carefully on the lane closest to the median and staying away from the service lane to prevent plummeting into the drainage.
As a result, commuters were unable to move around, even after the rain stopped at 9 a.m. The majority of them were observed hanging out at bus stops, waiting for the flood to recede.
Some of the residents who spoke with Chronicle NG called on the state government to intervene.
Modupe Akinbiyi, a citizen of Gberegbe in Ikorodu, said, “We do experience heavy floods each time it rains, particularly during the rainy season. We are worried about this flood. We have sent several complaints to the government and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources without positive results.”
