•Adeleke condoles victims, activates prevention plans
A heavy rain, which lasted about 65 minutes on Saturday forced hundreds of Osogbo residents, the Osun State capital, to flee from their homes, while traders in Shasha Market, Oke Baale, Alekuwodo, Obate, counted losses owing to the attendant destruction.
  
Although no life was lost, many houses, shops and kiosks were submerged in water while several thousands of naira worth of heaps of cassava, bags of garri and beans were washed away.
   
The Guardian gathered that the rain, which started at about 4:20p.m., caused floods that wreaked havoc on many shops and business places in Osogbo.
  

At Oke-Baale area, the flood affected shops of tailors and food vendors. It was the same situation at a popular sawmill at Oke-Baale as the rain washed away some planks.
  
The flood also occurred at Onireke junction, Akepe area, along Ibokun road, Osogbo.
   
A husband to one of the traders affected by the flood, Taofeek Amodu,  said he rushed to the area after receiving a telephone call from his wife to move some goods out of her shop before the place was flooded.
  
He explained that many market men and women, who were caught unawares and scampered for safety, suffered losses.
  
Also, one of the traders affected by the floods, Isiaka Ojolowo, said he and other traders quickly rushed out of their shops and that they were only able to take a few items away before the flood took over.
 
He said: “It has been an yearly ritual for this to happen to us but we didn’t expect it so early. The similar scenario happened during the late heavy rain around September and October, last year, when Akintokun river in Igbo-Ifa overflowed its bank, causing huge havoc to traders in the area. I was one of those badly affected as some of my rams were flushed away. In fact, a big cow was lost after efforts to prevent the flood from taking it away failed. It was a sad experience.”
  
He added: “There should be a bridge to channel the stream to the one in Igbo-Ifa but the past administration only put cemented rings there, which are too narrow for the river to navigate during the rainy season.

MEANWHILE,  Governor Ademola Adeleke has directed relevant agencies of government to activate the state’s flood prevention plans with immediate effect.
  
Spokesperson for the governor,  Olawale Rasheed, in a statement, yesterday, said the governor issued the directives after receiving reports of the inspections of the Osogbo flash floods, which affected several areas of the state capital.
  
The Secretary to the Osun State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, and other top government officials were said to have visited scenes of the flash flood on Saturday.
  
While commiserating with victims of the flash flood at Osogbo and other parts of the state, the governor instructed the Ministry of Environment to submit a report on the incidents with actionable recommendations.
  
“Osun is one of the states listed on the flood alert. The rainy season is here and we must be on the alert. We have launched many channelisation programmes across many towns and villages. This is still ongoing.
  
“I also urge our people to stop dumping of refuse on drainage and waterways. Proper disposal of waste is provided for under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment. Our people must embrace such best practices to prevent avoidable loss of life and property,” the statement added.