June 24, 2024
An early Monday morning downpour led to severe flooding, submerging the popular Trademore Estate in the Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Unconfirmed reports said two people were swept away by the flood.
The estate’s gate area was particularly affected, with the prolonged rain rendering hundreds homeless and causing extensive property damage.
A video circulated on Monday morning, narrated by an unidentified woman, showed the estate nearly completely submerged, with some properties seen outside homes in the rain.
She said while screaming in the video: “This is Trademore Estate, federal government we are pleading, two persons just died now, the water took them away. Two persons swept away by this water, please we are begging. FCT minister come and do something, we are appealing.
“See the Police Station is gone. These are people’s residences, and water is everywhere. Minister of FCT, Honourable Wike, please come to Trademore Estate, people are dying. Two people just died this morning, what a pity.”
Recall that the flooding in the estate has been a perennial occurrence every rainy season, which made the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) promise to tackle it, but nothing has been done.
The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) had announced last year that it would demolish structures on waterways in the estate and other estates across the FCT, but residents of the affected areas vehemently opposed the decision of the government and went to challenge it in court.
In a statement signed by the FCDA Executive Director, Shehu Ahmed, FCDA said the structures in communities such as Trademore Estate, disrupting the natural water flow, were responsible for flooding recorded in some parts of the city, despite the administration marking many buildings in the estate, the occupants refused to vacate.
The planned demolition was as a result of the continuous flooding that has reportedly claimed the lives of some residents and destroyed several houses, vehicles, shops, and other properties in the estate.
The residents during a protest said that many of them were still paying mortgage on their houses, which was why they were kicking against plans by the FCT authorities to demolish structures in the estate.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), on Sunday, predicted thundery and rainy weather conditions from Sunday to Tuesday across the country.
NiMet weather outlook released at the weekend in Abuja forecast morning thunderstorms over the North-Central states in places like Plateau, Nasarawa, FCT, Benue and Niger, during morning hours.
Also, later in the day, the agency stated that there would be prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory.
However, the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD), on Monday morning, said it had placed its vanguards and local emergency management committees in the six area councils on alert, following early warnings of possible flooding in the territory.
A statement by the Head of the Public Affairs, FCT Emergency Department, Nkechi Isa, added that the FCT might not experience flooding.
In a reaction to the early warning on neighbouring states, the Acting Director-General of FEMD, Florence Dawon Wenegieme, said the department had put in place, mitigative measures around the capital city.
Wenegieme informed that the Search and Rescue team was on alert, while local divers were posted to vulnerable locations, adding that LEMC in the six area councils and vanguards had also been informed.
The acting director-general appealed to residents to always use the 112 emergency toll-free number in the event of an emergency.
