The Long Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway was submerged on Monday after a downpour in some areas of Lagos and Ogun states, leaving drivers and commuters stranded in the gridlock created by the slow-moving traffic on the bridge as they attempted to reach their destinations in the states.
One of the stranded drivers, who went by the name Bakare, claimed that the traffic brought on by the floodwater on the bridge caused him to wait hours travelling a distance that should have taken him only a few minutes.
“The gridlock was terrible; it was not easy,” he said, referring to how the amount of the flood on the bridge influenced how quickly cars could move. Vehicles can be damaged by flooding, and I noticed some that were broken down on the bridge.
“I encountered the gridlock on the bridge around 4pm on my way to work and I got out of it around 6.31pm. The flood was on the bridge because the openings to drain the flood had been blocked.”
In a trending video recorded by a yet-to-be-identified person plying the bridge on Monday, vehicles were seen moving at snail’s speed on the submerged bridge to avoid accidents.
In the video titled ‘Warning, Long Bridge is flooded, slow down’, our correspondent observed that the floodwater rose to the level of the barricades at both sides of the bridge, indicating that the bridge had no outlet to empty the floodwater occasioned by the torrential rainfall.
ANAEDOONLINE Metro had reported that the torrential rainfall witnessed in parts of Lagos State on Thursday left many roads, houses and shops flooded.
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The situation caused gridlock that left many motorists and commuters stranded for hours on major roads in the metropolis.
While the rain which started around midday in some parts of the metropolis was still falling, the National Emergency Management Agency, in a statement by its Lagos Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, issued an advisory cautioning residents, motorists, teachers and school proprietors, among others, on the need to exercise restraint during and after the downpour.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, during a recent press briefing, asked residents of 23 flood-prone communities including Akute Isheri, Mowe, Ibafo, and other border communities between Lagos and Ogun States to temporarily relocate to avoid loss of lives and property due to flooding.
He said, “The second season will have a prolonged impact in wetlands such as Alagbole, Akute, Isheri, Warewa, Oke-Afa, Mowe, Ibafo, Kara, Onihale, Ebute Kimobi and Riverside Estate. These areas will witness coastal flooding due to the tidal lock of the Ogun River by Lagos Lagoon from the natural rise in sea level coupled with the possible release of excessive water from the Oya dam. Residents of these areas should be prepared to relocate temporarily from these areas during the second season of rainfall if required.”
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