The Ogun State Government says the state is well prepared for potential heavy rainfall and flooding amid concerns about flooding in neighbouring Lagos State.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Oladimeji Oresanya, said this on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
Oresanya cited the dredging of rivers in the state as part of measures put in place to avert floods during the rainy season.
“Though we have done our preparation. For example, at Isheri, we have dredged the Oparo River: that’s a river adjoining the Ogun River to allow reticulation because when you have a lockdown, the water must reticulate itself and must flow back, and there must be a channel where it can take the excess while the tidal lock stays,” he said.
“So for us in Ogun State, we are prepared, and we are more than prepared, and the challenge will be coming around September ending to end the month of October.”
In recent weeks, several areas in Lagos, a neighbouring state to Ogun, have been flooded, with commuters stranded following persistent rain. Videos and photos of the floods circulated on social media as residents lamented inadequate drainage and indiscriminate waste disposal.
Reacting to this, Commissioner Oresanya said the topography in Lagos and Ogun, though neighbours, is different.
“For us in Ogun State, the flash flood and any kind of devastation you may have are man-made because Ogun State is steep. You have hills that can allow the easy passage of water when you have an intense rainfall within a very short time because of the tropical area that we have,” he said.
“In July, for example, we have more than 400 mm of rainfall, which is intense, really, for a tropical area. If it is a flat terrain like Lagos, you have a retention of that water for a long time before it can recede into the sea. And that is why you have that large retention of water, but within a few hours, the water will either be absorbed by the soil, or it will regress into the sea.
“For us in Ogun State, you don’t have such retention in the early part of the year, talking about April, May, June, and July. July is when you have the highest, and whenever we have such intense rainfall, like the one we had recently, you always have a runoff.
“The only thing that can happen in Ogun State is that those run off; if you impede the flow channel, the water can be aggressive. It can tear off soil. It can tear up buildings, and if you find yourself along the line, you can be washed off. So that’s why we have a different terrain between Lagos and Ogun,” the commissioner explained.
