Heavy rains wreak havoc, sweep vehicles, occupants into drainage

• Adediran Sympathises With Victims, Sets Up Disaster Recovery Team In LGAs

Heavy rains, yesterday wreaked havoc in Orile-Agege of Lagos, sweeping away moving vehicles with their occupants. It was gathered that the occupants, three in each of the two vehicles, were driving along Fatoki Street, Agege, when the flood swept them into the drainage.

Information has it that rescuers from both the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and those from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) as well as the state fire service were still searching for the two missing persons as at press time.

Public Relations Officer of NEMA in the South-West Region, Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the unfortunate incidents, saying rescue officials were on ground.

Farinloye said the incident involved two vehicles, a Lexus Jeep carrying three persons and a Toyota with three occupants. According to him, the six persons were reported to have been swept away when rainwater overflowed an uncompleted canal in the area.

Similarly, on Friday at Yaya Hassan Street, Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area, (LCDA), when a commercial driver, simply identified as Ugo, 48, Alias, “Gunners” was swept away to his death by heavy flood during the persistent rainfall in Lagos.

Meanwhile, the Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (JANDOR), has commiserated with the victims of yesterday’s flooding in the state, praying that there will be no loss of lives even as the rain continues in some part of the state.
 
According to a statement by the Head, Media & Communications, Jandor ‘23 Campaign Organisation, Gbenga Ogunleye, Adediran has been inundated about news of families displaced by flood, expressing displeasure over the challenging experience of Lagosians any time it rains.

While noting that he had reached out to some of the victims earlier in the week, he said the situation became worrisome yesterday with the torrential rain that lasted for about seven hours.

“I have received with worries, messages of families being displaced as a result of today’s (Saturday) downpour. It is disheartening to see the good people of the state suffer such neglect and huge discomfort. This disaster is preventable and avoidable at least to the barest minimum,” he said.
 
In his usual prompt approach to the yearnings of residents, the Governorship Candidate has put up actions to mitigate the effect of the flood across the 20 local councils of the state. “In the interim, I have set up a Disaster Recovery Team across the state from our network of members to offer immediate assistance to the victims,” he said.
 
“We will continue to patch up until we install a government we can jointly call our own and birth a breath of fresh air in Lagos,” he said.