Flood Wreaks Havoc In Ondo, As Aiyedatiwa Inspects Spots
•By Our Reporter
AKURE – Residents of Ondo town in Ondo State are currently counting their losses as many property were destroyed by flooding.
The downpour that started around 5pm on Friday didn’t stop until late in the night This resulted in canals and streams getting filled and overflowed their banks.
Many houses and structures were submerged and a number of drowned residents were rescued by some individuals.
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Virtually all structures along valleys and canal tracks were affected by the flooding.
There had been incessant rainfall in the town for about three days but it got worse on Friday when a heavy rainfall occurred.
Inspecting the affected areas on Saturday, the Special Adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Works and Infrastructure, Pastor Ayo Babalola was in Ondo with some engineers from the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.
He stopped at Ita Nla, Ile-Oluji Junction, where a shop filled with bags of cement was washed away with the cements.
The culvert in the area was blocked by silt and a relaxation joint was built on the water channel which reduced the width of the channel.
No fewer than 300 bags of cement were washed away by the flooding that lasted several hours causing traffic jams in the town which lasted several hours.
At Oke Odunwo, the culvert was too small to contain the volume of the erosion which forced it to overflow the track and destroyed some structures within the radius of 50 meters along the river course.
Residents of the area said the culvert which contains three rings was over 50 years old, while some claimed it was built by the colonial masters.
Addressing newsmen on the spot, Pastor Babalola said the amphibian extractor which excavated the refuse on the channel and dredged it reduced the magnitude of the damage that would have been done by the flooding.
He disclosed that the state government had approved the reconstruction of the culvert to a large one that would accommodate the volume of water running through the canal.
But he said with the current incident, the contract would have to be reviewed to accommodate channelling of the canal on either sides of the bridge.
Areas affected by the flooding which were visited and assessed by the Special Adviser are Ita Nla, Oke Odunwo(Jordan Street), Lipakala /Laje Road, Yaba, Esporta Suits(Ife Road) and Funbi Fagun Estate.
Pastor Babalola was joined by the state Commissioner for Environment, Oyeniyi Oseni, Special Adviser to the governor on Legislative Matters and Special Duties, Jibayo Adeleye, and some officials of State Emergency Management Agency(SEMA).
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Pastor Babalola told journalists that “We are here to have on the spot assessment of what really happened yesterday through last night. We had a function at Ile-Oluji, but around 9pm I got a call that the Ita Nla had been submerged. There was serious traffic jam.
“We have to appeal to our people. If you look at the volume of water coming from the other side of the vulvert to Jordan Street here is so heavy. That’s why we have this kind of incident. We have observed some of the things our people are doing in the neighborhood, dumping of refuse in the canal. Though this is minimal.
“But this culvert, I was told was built over 40 years ago. There are six rings, three below, three at the top. But as you can see, the three below have been covered, leaving three which are not enough to contain the volume of water coming from the other side of the culvert.
“But some of our people are building on the river course. But our governor, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa Will do the needful to ensure we address this challenge.
“By the time we are through with this box-culvert, we will do some channelling to some meters on either sides of the culvert.
“It is observed that a number of people who built their houses close to the river course have been leaving, so by the time we are through with this measure we are taking, those who built their houses too close to the river course will relocate.
“About three weeks ago, we instructed the contractor to move to site because the culvert has been awarded, but with this new development, we will have to expand the scope of the contract.
Although we will be doing some palliative measures, but the amphibian excavator has done the dredging.
“There’s little that we can do now because the rain is heavy, but by the time it subsides, we will begin serious construction work. But I want to appeal to our people to block where they believe water can flow to their homes.
“The contractor will come tomorrow to ensure the water flows through the course. He will start full construction when the rain subsides.”
•INDEPENDENTNG.