Ondo State Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa on Saturday, ordered the evacuation of people from the areas affected by Friday’s flash flood in Ondo City. Besides, he ordered a rapid response from the government to halt further damages.
His spokesman, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said in a statement that the Environment Ministry would intensify dredging, and sanction developers building on canals as part of the government’s emergency steps.
According to the statement: “Ondo State Government has sympathized with the Osemawe of Ondo and the people of Ondo kingdom on the flash flood that occurred in some parts of the community on Friday.
“This is just as Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa has ordered the evacuation of the affected areas and rapid response of the government to halt further damages.
“The State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Oyeniyi Oseni, in a statement, declared that the State Government had put every necessary machinery in place to avert the possible flood as predicted by NIMET.
“According to him, Amphibious Excavators had been deployed into critical erosion-prone areas in the state for dredging.
“Oyeniyi posited that an Amphibious Excavator has been working in Ondo Kingdom in the past two weeks, precisely in Laje and Oke-Odunwo, the areas identified as the most critical erosion-prone locations, while the Amphibious Excavator had also carried out dredging activities in Akure, Igbokoda, and Ore.
“Oseni said that his findings revealed the urgent need to further dredge some canals along Captain Cook up to the sawmill area of Ondo which will commence today (Saturday).
“He promised that the Amphibious Excavator will continue to work in the area to allow free water flow through the canal.
“The Commissioner informed that the cause of the flooding on Friday also could be attributed to development on waterways in an Estate at Fagun and along Ife road.
“He, therefore, stated that his Ministry is going to collaborate with the relevant MDAs to address the unlawful development along the waterways.
“He assured the Kabiyesi and the people of the town that the Amphibious Excavator would continue the dredging of the canal until the problem is resolved.”
The flooding incident submerged houses and vehicles in the affected streets, while many residents were sacked from their houses.
Flooding has destroyed properties worth millions of naira in Ondo State on Friday.
The incident affected some areas in Ondo town; including Itanla, Oka, Odo Ijomu, Bethlehem, and Akure-Ondo Expressway among others.
The flood disaster followed a rainfall that lasted for several hours.
The flooding incident submerged houses and vehicles in the affected streets, while many residents were sacked from their houses.
