The Oyo State Emergency Management Agency (OYOSEMA) has issued a flash flood alert for residents in Ibadan, particularly those in Akinyele, Egbeda, and Oluyole local government areas.
The agency said this in a statement issued by its Administrative Secretary, Mrs Ojuolape Busari, on Friday in Ibadan.
Busari said that the flood early warning system’s latest weather forecast indicated that heavy rainfall is expected in the mentioned local government areas.
She urged residents in the areas to take proactive measures to mitigate the impact of potential flooding.
Busari noted that some areas within the mentioned local governments could receive more than 100mm (about 4 inches) of rain in the next 24 hours.
She highlighted that the heavy rainfall would be experienced in the North-East side of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) area, and the airport in Ibadan.
Busari said the flood alert became necessary to activate the concerned local government authorities and communities to take necessary actions to mitigate the risk of flooding and avoid loss of lives, displacement, as well as significant damage to property and infrastructure.
She added that IITA (Akinyele) and the airport (Egbeda) areas would experience significant rainfall.
Busari warned that accessibility to major roads in the predicted areas might become difficult or impassable.
She said that heavy rain would make driving hazardous, advising residents to avoid driving or walking through floodwaters.
“People living in flood-prone areas should move to higher ground to avoid loss of lives and property,” she said.