Lagos is a low, flat city on a lagoon, and in the rainy season heavy rain regularly turns roads into rivers. Some streets flood every year; some ground-floor flats do too. You can avoid most of the damage by knowing before you move in.
Why it floods
The city sits barely above sea level, much of it on reclaimed wetland and sand. Drains are too few, too small and often blocked with rubbish, and new building covers ground that once absorbed rain. A downpour at high tide, with the lagoon full, has nowhere to go.
Before you rent or buy
- Ask the neighbours, the shop owners and the okada riders whether the street floods. They will tell you.
- Look for the signs: water marks on walls, raised doorsteps, sandbags, houses built well above the road, and a compound floor higher than the street.
- Avoid ground floors in low-lying streets.
- Visit after heavy rain, if you can, rather than on a sunny afternoon.
When the water rises
- Do not drive or walk through floodwater. It hides open drains and manholes, and moving water sweeps cars away. People drown in Lagos floods.
- Stay where you are until it drops, if you are safe. Floods on most roads go down within hours.
- Switch off the power at the mains if water reaches sockets.
- Call the emergency services if anyone is trapped.
Protect what matters
- Keep documents high and in waterproof bags: passport, NIN slip, certificates, property papers.
- Park on higher ground in the rainy season, and check that your car insurance covers flood damage.
- Raise electrical goods off the floor in a ground-floor flat.
- Keep drains in front of your house clear, and do not dump rubbish in them; blocked drains flood your own street first.