On a rainy morning in Lagos, residents of Kunsela Road in Ikate moved through knee-deep water as traffic slowed and drivers tried to protect their engines from the flood.
In Shogunle, Oshodi, muddy water moved through residential streets, carrying refuse and debris. Parked cars were partly covered. Ground-floor residents rushed to lift furniture, electronics and personal items away from the rising water.
The same scenes played out in parts of Gbagada, Ikorodu Road, Ajiran and other communities after days of heavy rainfall between late June and early July. Roads were submerged, businesses were disrupted and many residents were again forced to count the cost of living in a city that floods almost every rainy season.
For Lagosians, flooding is no longer strange. But the latest incidents have brought back a difficult question: why does Lagos keep flooding despite repeated government interventions?
The answer, according to urban planners, environmental experts and researchers, goes beyond heavy rainfall. Lagos is a coastal city with low-lying areas, but its flood problem has also been worsened by poor planning, blocked drainage paths, loss of wetlands, illegal land reclamation and limited flood-control infrastructure.
A City Built Over Its Natural Defences
One major reason Lagos floods is the steady destruction of wetlands and mangroves.
For decades, these natural areas helped Lagos absorb rainwater. Wetlands acted like sponges. They collected excess water, slowed down runoff and released it gradually into rivers, lagoons and other waterways.
But across many parts of the city, especially along the Lekki corridor, wetlands and mangrove areas have been replaced by estates, shopping centres, roads and other developments. As concrete spreads, the ground loses its ability to absorb rainfall.
This means that when heavy rain falls, water moves faster across hard surfaces and quickly overwhelms drainage channels.
Urban planner Tpl. Niyi Aderohunmu said the conversion of wetlands into residential and commercial projects has reduced Lagos’ natural capacity to manage stormwater. He explained that climate change and intense rainfall contribute to the problem, but years of land-use changes have made the city far more vulnerable.
Geographer Abeeb Babajide Ajagbe described wetlands and mangroves as part of Lagos’ natural flood infrastructure. In his view, the removal of these buffers is not just an environmental issue. It is also a governance problem caused by planning approvals, weak enforcement and development decisions that allow construction in flood-prone areas.
Environmental resource management expert Gbenga Oloniniran also linked the problem to unregulated urban expansion. He said the removal of natural barriers has exposed low-lying areas to faster and more dangerous surface runoff during long periods of rain.
Drainage Alone Is Not Enough
While many discussions about flooding in Lagos focus on blocked drains, some experts argue that the city’s problem is bigger than drainage.
Independent researcher Tonami Playman said Lagos needs more than canals and gutters. According to him, the city lacks large-scale flood storage infrastructure that can hold excess rainwater during extreme rainfall.
He argued that even when drains are cleared and maintained, flash floods can still happen if there is no system to temporarily store stormwater.
This is an important point because Lagos often treats flooding as a drainage problem. Government agencies clear canals, remove waste, demolish structures on drainage paths and expand drainage networks. These steps are necessary, but experts say they cannot fully solve the problem if water has nowhere to go during peak rainfall.
Playman pointed to cities such as Tokyo, Chicago and Kuala Lumpur, where major underground tunnels, reservoirs and stormwater storage systems have been built to manage floodwater. His argument is that Lagos must begin to think at that scale if it wants long-term flood resilience.
Government Blames Geography, Climate and Urban Growth
The Lagos State Government has said the recent flooding is caused by a combination of coastal geography, climate change, rapid urbanisation and environmental damage.
Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said Lagos’ location makes flooding difficult to avoid. He noted that a large part of the state is made up of lagoons, rivers, swamps and streams. These water bodies are expected to receive stormwater during heavy rain.
Some areas, especially around Lagos Island, are also low-lying and close to sea level. This makes drainage more difficult when rain is heavy.
Wahab also pointed to rapid urban growth over the past two to three decades. He said wetlands and mangroves that once helped absorb water have been replaced by buildings, especially along the Lekki corridor.
Another issue is illegal land reclamation. According to the commissioner, areas such as Ajiran, Agungi, Ikota and the Chevron corridor have seen parts of the lagoon reclaimed without proper approval. This narrows drainage routes and worsens flooding in nearby communities.
He also mentioned tidal locking, which happens when heavy rainfall comes at the same time as high sea levels. When this happens, stormwater cannot easily flow into the lagoon or Atlantic Ocean. The water stays trapped in the city until the tide goes down.
What Lagos Must Do Differently
Experts agree that Lagos needs a broader flood-management strategy.
Aderohunmu called for a blue-green planning approach. This means combining engineering solutions, such as drains and canals, with natural systems like wetlands, green corridors and floodplains.
He said Lagos must stop building on the natural systems that help manage water. He also called for stronger development control, proper hydrological assessments and stricter enforcement of approved building plans.
Ajagbe said remaining wetlands and mangrove corridors should be legally protected. He also recommended nature-based solutions in already built-up areas, including green roofs, permeable pavements and more urban green spaces to reduce runoff.
Oloniniran said Lagos should invest in active flood-control systems such as floodgates and large pumping stations, especially in low-lying and island areas. These systems can help control seawater intrusion and move excess stormwater when natural drainage is overwhelmed.
He also called for temporary evacuation shelters for residents in flood-prone communities. In his view, Lagos needs a system that does not only warn people about flooding but also gives them somewhere safe to go when flooding becomes severe.
Waste management is another key issue. Blocked drains and canals remain a major problem across the city. Better waste collection, stronger enforcement against dumping and public education would help reduce the pressure on drainage systems.
Lessons From Other Cities
Lagos is not the only coastal West African city facing floods. Accra, Lomé and parts of Côte d’Ivoire have also experienced similar problems.
But experts say these cities do not yet offer a strong model for Lagos because many of them also lack major flood-control infrastructure.
Instead, Lagos may need to study cities that have made long-term investments in flood management. Kuala Lumpur’s SMART tunnel, for example, works as both a road tunnel and a stormwater tunnel. During heavy rainfall, it can be used to hold and divert floodwater.
Chicago’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan was designed to reduce flooding and manage stormwater through large underground tunnels and reservoirs. Tokyo’s underground flood-control system is another example of how cities can invest heavily to protect dense urban areas from extreme rainfall.
These projects are expensive and take many years to complete. But they show that serious flood control requires long-term planning, engineering and funding.
Recent Government Action
The Lagos State Government has started demolishing structures that obstruct drainage channels in Agungi, Ajiran and Ikota. It says the goal is to reopen blocked waterways and remove buildings that sit on drainage alignments.
In 2025, the state also announced a flood management plan involving estate lakes, canals, pumps, flap gates, wetland restoration and updated building rules. The plan is designed to create a blue-green drainage network that can temporarily store and release stormwater.
However, the pace of implementation remains important. For residents who face flooding every rainy season, announcements alone will not be enough.
The Bigger Question
Lagos’ flood problem is not caused by one issue. It is the result of many years of poor land-use decisions, blocked waterways, weak enforcement, rapid development, coastal geography and limited infrastructure.
Clearing drains will help. Protecting wetlands will help. Demolishing illegal structures on waterways will help. But none of these measures will be enough on their own.
If Lagos wants to reduce yearly flooding, it must treat flood management as a major urban survival issue, not just a seasonal emergency.
The city needs better planning, stronger enforcement, protected natural buffers, modern drainage systems, large-scale water storage infrastructure and clearer accountability.
Until then, communities like Kunsela, Ologolo, Gbagada, Ajiran and many others may continue to face the same painful reality whenever the rains return.
