A flood occurs when water overflows land that’s normally dry, and this can happen in a multitude of ways.
In the case of the recent rather unfortunate situation that occurred in Lekki, the following points can be seen as the main causes:
SHALLOW DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
The importance of a standard drainage system during road construction cannot be over-emphasized. There are a lot of bad, obstructed and shallow drainage systems within the Lekki axis and they all contributed greatly to the recent Lekki flood.
GULLY
Some areas are naturally in a gully and will continue to experience flooding until a canal is constructed. The appropriate authorities should consider this as pressing issues that require urgent attention.
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL
Rainfall is a natural occurrence that could contribute to an environmental disaster such as flooding especially in cases where it becomes excessive and severe. Excessive rainfall, of course, has reportedly been identified as one of the major causes of flooding all over the world. The Lekki axis experienced continues rainfall for almost a week as a result; drainage channels as well as canals that were constructed to deal with the situation became filled up and were subsequently overwhelmed. E.g. Ocean Bay (pictures)
COVERED CANAL
Land that was initially used in constructing a canal was sold, and the canal was subsequently sand filled for building construction by a developer. (Lekky County pictures)
AREAS THAT WERE NOT AFFECTED
Contrary to the myth that all of Lekki floods, only a very small fraction of Lekki does experience flooding and even on the day when the flooding was said to have escalated (people swimming in flood waters), still only a small fraction flooded, in addition to the central Lekki Express. The fact that the central Lekki Express flooded and was blocked was, however, a horrible event that caused severe traffic for several hours and subsequent weeks as the interlocked roads were badly damaged.
AREAS THAT FLOODED
AGUNGI
Agungi is one of those places in the Lekki axis where individuals buy land and build as they like. There are also gated residential estates in the area. Developers also buy land within and outside the estates and build for the purpose of selling and making profits. Some of these developers when buildingdoesn’t consider it important to construct drainage channels as they are only keen on making profits. Also, the central road and some streets within Agungi are known for flooding. The contributory factors are because there are no sufficient drainage channels; even the available few are not maintained and are always blocked. These always bring about flooding in the area during raining seasons.
ELEGUSHI
Some areas in the Lekki axis are either waterlogged or generally in wet condition based on the particular location. There are also areas that are in proximity to the sea and are slightly above the sea level. Such areas are always at the receiving end during flooding.
CHEVY VIEW
Prior to the recent Lekki tragedy, the issue of flooding is one common predicament facing residents of Chevy View Estate. There are a lot of shallow, clogged and substandard drainage channels in the estate. Also, the land in Chevy View is generally sloppy and has the likelihood of experiencing a flood during a heavy downpour.
OSAPA
The Osapa axis of Lekki has always been known for flooding. The situation got worsened by the recent flood. The drainage channels, as well as the canals in the area, were overwhelmed by the flow.
IKOTA VILLA
Land in some parts of Ikota Villa is naturally sloppy and always in wet condition. Even after minor rainfall, roads in those areas always contain stagnant water. There are also no sufficient drainage channels in the estate. The available few are too shallow and are always blocked, there is hardly free flow due to lack of maintenance. These conditions contributed to the recent flood that affected parts of the estate.
WESTEND ESTATE
Westend Estate is located within Ikota Villa and the factors that necessitated flooding within the estate are synonymous to that of Ikota Villa. Some parts of the estate that were affected were also as a result of its nearness to the water front.
PARTS OF ORCHID HOTEL ROAD COMPRISING –
OCEAN BAY
Ocean Bay is a very beautiful and well-landscaped estate with green areas in front of houses. The estate is actually one of the best within the vicinity. However, it was not an exception from the areas that were affected during the recent Lekki flood. Some sections of the estate land are waterlogged and the estate drainage channels are not flowing freely. During the heavy downpour, the drainages got filled up and made some parts of the estate to flood.
BUENA VISTA
Buena Vista estate is another very beautiful and serene estate along the Orchid Hotel road. But the estate is situated close to the river and naturally has a low land. The drainage channels in the estate are of standard but were all filled up during the heavy downpour that lasted almost a week leading to flooding in some parts of the estate.
AJAH (ADO / BADORE AREAS)
During the Recent Lekki flood, the Ajah areas were some of the places that were affected the most. The area is close to the river and has a naturally low land that’s slightly above sea level. Even, the drainage channels within the area are always blocked as usual and don’t flow freely.
MONASTERY ROAD, SANGOTEDO
Monastery Road is located within Songotedo off the Lekki –Epe Expressway. It’s a well-interlocked road with covered drainage on both sides. However, the area was also affected during the recent Lekki flood as a result of the heavy downpour.
SOURCE: neighbourhoodreview.com
