Oyo State Government has cautioned residents of the state living close to flood plains to take precaution in view of the impending rainstorm which may lead to flooding.
Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun, Secretary to the State Government, said to forestall flooding and its attendant effects, residents of the state, especially those in Ona Ara, Lagelu, Oyo East, Kajola, Egbeda, Ogbomoso South, Iseyin, Ibarapa North, Ibadan South-West, Ibadan North-West and Ibadan South-East local government areas, should clear the drainages in their communities.
She added that they should desist from dumping refuse in water channels to avert the danger.
The SSG, while addressing journalists in Ibadan on Wednesday, said, “It is of paramount importance that our people should take necessary precautions during heavy rainfall or in the event of flooding.
“People living in houses built along floodplains should relocate to safer places, avoid the use of low bridges and culverts when the rain is persistent, and whenever there is rainfall, people should avoid staying under high tension electricity installations.
“Each household should keep a dustbin and patronise government-approved waste disposal contractors, avoid building on floodplains, obtain building approvals from relevant statutory bodies before commencing building, among others.”
According to her, as part of efforts to put an end to the menace of flooding in the state, the government would implement the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project with funding and technical assistance from the World Bank.
The state, she said, has constructed ultramodern hydraulic structures at 17 locations in Ibadan as well as extensive drains/adjoining roads to the structures and rehabilitated the 78-year-old Eleyele Dam to curtail flood.
“In June, a follow-up correspondence was done to the Office of the Governor by the National Emergency Management Agency charging our state to intensify its flood risk mitigating measures ahead of the predicted heavy downpours.
“The vulnerability of Ibadan and some other towns in Oyo State to river and urban flooding is induced by our towns’ topographic terrain; the problem of indiscriminate waste disposal and building of houses on flood plains.
“There is the tendency that the foregoing could even be aggravated by the universal menace of global warming and climate change.
“It is in the light of this that the government of the day in Oyo State has given its full backing to the full implementation of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project, the state-owned flood risk mitigation project with funding and technical assistance from the World Bank.
“As a responsible government, the administration cares about the safety of the lives and property of our citizens and would not want them to suffer avoidable losses.”
