Residents of Alapere area of Lagos are still counting their losses while others lick their wounds as Saturday’s heavy downpour wreaked great havoc and tragedy. Two yet-to-be-identified children were swept away and many parts of the area submerged .
The incident occurred at about 8:00pm at Oyebanjo Street, Ketu.
While the rain forced some residents to stay indoors, a few others suffered personal tragedies as the downpour and flooding led to destruction of properties.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency in a situation report on Sunday said a search operation was ongoing to find the missing children.
LASEMA’s Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, noted that it was discovered that the children were missing around 8:00pm on Saturday.
He said, “The agency received distress calls concerning the above. On arrival at the scene of the incident it was discovered that, around 8:00pm, two children had been caught up by floodwater.
“A joint team of responders comprising agency responders, LASG Fire Service and LASAMBUS was at the scene.
“The agency’s tiger team commenced a search and rescue operation along the path of the floodwater.
“Initial observations revealed a sloping topography with a direct channel of drain water into the canal. This has proven to be rather challenging to navigate. Rescue operation remains ongoing.”