Published: July 10,2017
A
sandal vendor pushes his cart through the flooded streets of Maiduguri,
Nigeria, on July 5, 2017. Continuous rainfall in parts of the country
triggered widespread flooding that has left at least 18 dead. (STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP/Getty Images)
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center estimated southwest Nigeria, including the capital, Lagos, picked up generally 3.9 to 5.9 inches of rain July 2-8 , according to weather.com meteorologist Jon Erdman. Most of that appeared to have fallen on July 8, as an area of heavy rain stalled right over the heavily-populated city. Because of a high tide, rain-swollen rivers and streams could not drain fast.
In Suleja, torrential rainfall began early Sunday and caught many off-guard, according to Saharareporters.com. Several people were trapped inside of their homes due to flooding.
“There is a man who stays with his family, and he lost two wives and six children,” an unnamed Hi village resident told SaharaReporters.com. “He was shouting for help but nobody was there to help him at that time.”
The man who lost his family was taken to a local hospital with critical injuries after his building collapsed under pressure.
“The flood affected many people who built their houses along the river bank,” Suleja District Police Officer Mohammed Mohammed told Adelove.com. “Many houses have been destroyed with an unconfirmed number of deaths recorded.”
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A man lost six children after flooding entered their home while everyone was sleeping and swept them away, according to SaharaReporters.com.
“For the past few days, the State, and indeed most parts of Nigeria, have witnessed torrential rainfall which is quite unprecedented,” Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said in a statement obtained by PM News. “We have witnessed our most prime estates flooded with water, we have seen our roads taken over by floods, and we have painfully watched how many homesteads have literally become pools.
“These, indeed, are trying times for any government, especially our own administration which has determinedly pursued massive infrastructural development to improve standards of living of our citizenry,” he added.
Floodwater took over Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island Saturday and people were forced to flee, JehusBlog.com reports. Resident Tolin Olalere said that he has been stuck inside of his home for days due to the continuing downpour.
“People in my community have resulted to trekking or using canoes to move about,” said Olalere. “Some people have even started moving out of the community because of the flood which destroyed their properties.”
Eko Electricity Distribution Company announced Sunday that there would be an outage in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki due to its substations and equipment being submerged by flooding, PM News reports.
The government has urged residents to remain indoors during heavy rainfall.
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