As the Lagos State Government alerts communities to the likelihood of heavy rainfall and flooding in the coming weeks, health and environmental experts have outlined measures residents can adopt to prevent disease outbreaks, especially cholera.
The specialists warned that floodwaters often contaminate drinking sources and create breeding grounds for disease-causing organisms, increasing the risk of infections.
They identified the infections to include cholera, typhoid fever, malaria, and other water-borne illnesses.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that Lagos Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has urged residents of the state to brace for heavy rainfall and flash flooding as the rainy season approaches.
In a recent press briefing, Wahab stated that the alert was intended to prepare them for the potential impacts of the rainy season and other weather events.
The commissioner noted that the 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction released on February 10, 2025, by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency indicated Lagos State is expected to record an average rainfall amount of about 1,965mm.
Wahab said, “Lagos State is expected to experience above normal rainfall. This is expected for the neighbouring Ogun State. It is also expected that the high amounts of rainfall sometimes would lead to flooding events in parts of the state.
“Because strong winds are expected during the onset and the end of each rainy season, lives and properties may be at risk. Commercial activities disruption, flight delays, and resulting revenue loss could arise.”
Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Healthwise, the experts urged Lagos residents to maintain proper sanitation to prevent the spread of disease associated with flooding.
A Consultant Community Physician at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Dr. Obioma Uchendu, said residents must ensure the water they drink is safe to avoid cholera.
“If there’s a flood or other contamination, they must boil their water before use,” he said.
According to him, proactive hygiene practices, including clearing blocked drainage and seeking prompt medical care when symptoms of infection appear, are important.
“So, the first thing is to determine what their sources of sewage disposal and refuse disposal are. It would be good if they ensure that refuse disposal is done in a proper way and to ensure they don’t leave refuse lying around.
“This is because the transmission of cholera and most of these organisms are through vectors. If these vectors have access to faeces and refuse scattered around, it will help to multiply the spread of those diseases,” he said.
The physician warned against the widespread practice of open defecation, adding that faeces mixing with water bodies spreads infection during rainy and flood seasons.
“People just defecate anywhere, which in communities where streams are a major source of water, leads to rain washing faeces into water bodies and spreading disease.
“Cholera, largely, is contagious mainly from faeces to food, water, and so on. So that is one key thing: individuals themselves must understand the importance of having a proper sewage disposal system to prevent the spread of disease,” he said.
Uchendu, however, urged residents to adopt personal hygiene like proper handwashing and proper covering of food as a form of disease prevention.
“Then, of course, handwashing, especially after using the toilet, with soap and water, remains one of the cheapest means of prevention. Covering food and other hygiene practices are also important,” he added.
Also, the President of the Africa Environmental Health Organisation, Afolabi Abiodun, said urgent measures need to be taken to prevent flooding from wreaking havoc in the state.
He listed addressing blocked drainage, weak enforcement of environmental laws, and poor public awareness as part of the urgent measures needed to be taken.
Abiodun noted that while Lagos already has policies and frameworks to tackle flooding, the failure to implement them effectively leaves communities exposed to avoidable disasters yearly.
“In Lagos, for instance, canals are supposed to serve as receiving bodies for erosion or floodwater. But most of these canals are blocked either by waste, rubbish, sand, or silt. The ideal thing is that communities need a better understanding.
“We need to educate them on how to dispose of waste properly, so that it doesn’t block waterways or drainages in front of houses,” he said.
He said that maintaining waterways and drainage systems should be a continuous process before and during the rainy season.
“Maintenance of waterways and drainage systems should be done before the rains begin, and continued during the rainy season, so that floods will not remain a problem for society,” Abiodun said.