By Akinwale Kasali and Uche Mbah
Residents of Freeman Street, Lagos Island, and other parts of Lagos are counting their losses over the heavy downpour that lasted for over three hours wreaked havoc.
A four-storey building under construction in the said area collapsed, leaving one dead. Many are still under the rubble.
Emergency Responders swung into action as soon as they were alerted of the collapse and rushed to the scene on a rescue mission.
Luckily, two persons were immediately rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and was rushed to the Hospital by the National Emergency Management Agency, NAMA and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, both of which were on ground.
The cause of the collapse of the building was immediately attributed to the heavy rain and windy storm. But this magazine gathered that the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, had already noted that the collapsed building was in violation of safety protocols.
Said a source: “It was discussed that the building had been captured by the LASBCA District Office and served with all Statuyory Notices, Sealed at District and Central Level.
“Further investigation determined determined that the developer had continued clandestine operations mostly at night and at the weekends.”
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Agency confirmed the collapse in a preliminary report titled, ‘ Situation report on collapsed four-floor building at 4 Alayaki Lane, Lagos Island on Saturday, 21st May, 2022’.
The report read, “The Agency responded to the above incident which was already in violation of building safety protocols.
It was discovered that the building had been captured by the LASBCA District Office and served with all Statutory Notices, Sealed at District and Central Enforcement Level.
“Further investigation determined that the developer had continued clandestine operations mostly at night and at the weekends.
“An unconfirmed number of people are still trapped inside the building. Two people have been rescued alive while another was recovered dead
“Search and Rescue operations ongoing. Further updates to follow.”
In other parts of the State, the heavy downpour led to the flooding of the roads and poor visibility for Motorists plying the roads.
Vehicular movement was halted in the Lagos Island of the State as the road was waterlogged with Vehicles stranded in the flood, with Motorists waiting patiently for the flood to subside before they can continue their journey.
It was a sad tale for residents of Sango, Oju Ore, Iyana Iyesi, Aparadija, Ayetoro area of Ado Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The heavy rain saw roofs of some houses blown off by wind, while some were bailing water from their houses due to the heavy flood.
Passersby in the area were walking at snail speed due to the heavy flood that has taken over the road and fear of not falling into the drainages and gutters.
There was no vehicular movement on the Lagos Abeokuta Expressway as the road that was already in a pathetic state worsened with the heavy downpour.
It would be recalled that Commissioner for the Lagos State Ministry for Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, had during a briefing on the 2022 seasonal climate predictions and socio-economic implications for the state, noted that Lagos Island is expected to have a rainfall onset date as from April 6, cessation date as November 30 and a total rainfall amount of 1627mm.
He stressed that the peculiarity of Lagos, as a coastal state and its strategic position as the economic hub of the nation, has necessitated the need to disseminate crucial information on the 2022 climate prediction to prepare people ahead of the likely consequences of the rains and other relevant weather parameters.
As predicted, the rainfall in Lagos and its environs was intense, resulting in multiple crashes in some areas of the state and its neighbouring State, Ogun.
