Environment
Seven people, including three siblings, died as a result of the flood occasioned by heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday in Lagos and Ogun states, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said yesterday evening.
It said the seven deaths were recorded at Oke Isagun, Orile-Agege, Lagos and Akute in Ogun State.
According to NEMA’s Lagos Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, who gave updates on post-disaster assessment, the siblings identified as Michael, 18, Elizabeth, 17, and Timi, 14, were swept away by flood at an uncompleted building belonging to Mercy of Christ Apostolic Church where they resided.
He said available information indicated that they were swept off while attempting to relocate from their room to the main church structure.
In the course of moving through a connecting plank, Timi, said to be asthmatic, slipped and the other siblings in a bid to rescue him, were swept off by the heavy flood.
Farinloye said a NEMA delegation visited the community to sensitise the leaders on floods.
“An appeal was made to them that for the rest of the year, the community must embark on awareness and sensitisation campaigns on safe actions to avoid the situation that they experienced during the period.
“The community leaders informed NEMA that in the same community four children of the same parents were also swept away on the same day but the community members rallied round and rescued them,” he said.
-The Nation
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Tags: Ibrahim Farinloye NEMA
