Trademore flooding: Fear-stricken residents narrate ordeal, seek quick intervention

 

Last Friday, residents of Trademore Mega City Estate in Lugbe, Abuja, went to bed like they did every other day.

However, as they woke up in the morning in readiness for the day’s activities, there was no going out of their houses. The area was devastated by flood.

DAILY POST correspondent, who visited the area, reports that the victims are yet to recover from the shock.

Residents of the mega city groaned that the flood was caused by building on waterways and a lack of proper channels for water to flow.

In the past two years, residents of the mega city have been confronted with the hydra-headed monster of flooding, which has led to the loss of lives and properties worth millions destroyed.

In the past, such incidents were manageable, but last Friday was the worst witnessed so far.

DAILY POST can authoritatively report that the water submerged no fewer than 116 houses within the estate.

Some observers link the disaster to the failure of the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, to pull down buildings earmarked for demolition and the inability to create enough water routes within the estate.

Commenting on the flooding, a resident of the estate, who identified himself as Old Soldier, told DAILY POST that houses within the estate earmarked for demolition should be pulled down.

He urged the government to draw up intervention to help those affected by the flood.

He said: “The incident on Friday was a natural disaster. The heavy downpour made me take a different route because the water was high at the second gate.

“On getting to a place called Jessi Gen, the flood there was so high that I had to wait on a hill close by.

“I waited for hours for the flood to subside, and in between, cars were carried away as it came with the current of a river.

“We tried to help those we could; a woman in a submerged house was rescued by the second gate; children and women were rescued; it was so pathetic that day.

“Areas earmarked for demolition by the FCDA must be pulled down; when you demolish these buildings, it gives enough room for expansion of water channels within the estate.

“Government should expedite its action in this area so that we will not continue to lose lives and properties.

“Some of the government agencies came with ropes to drag some of the vehicles affected by the flood and rescue those inside during the incident.

“If it had happened in the night, so many lives would have been lost. At the end of the day, I heard a body was found, but now, I can’t tell the number of casualties.”

Corroborating the Old soldier’s story, Tsegba Godwin, a Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Trademore Estate, charged FCDA to draw up plans on how to channel the water.

Lamenting that the flood had led to the loss of lives and properties, Godwin charged the government to intervene and stop the flooding.

“I was the one who was struggling to come out through the window during the flood.

“The flood was not from the vicinity but from far away. FCDA should look into this matter and draw up plans on how to channel the water.

“They should construct good bridges at the four points where this water usually flows through.

“The government should take this matter seriously because this flood has been leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Public Complaint Commission in Abuja, Dalhatu Musa has also lamented that houses were built within waterways in the area.

Musa questioned the allocation of lands in the area by the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, stressing that they should move in and correct the errors.

Speaking during an on-the-spot-assessment of the area, the Commissioner said: “From our findings, this is not the first time we have had this kind of challenge with regard to flooding.

“I think two or three years back, a similar incident took place, and it’s becoming an issue of concern to us as a government agency.

“If you check right here, you will see that there are houses on waterways, and there is an agency of the government saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that these houses are not there.

“In FCT, if you build any house, you must have an allocation, so we want to find out who gave these allocations for houses to be built on waterways and who controls what is happening, because there is a government agency responsible for all of this. If the right thing was done, I don’t think we would have experienced what is happening.

“There is a lot of damage; there are cars and houses we saw that were submerged by the flood. I have asked questions to know if some of them have been taken to hospital because the government’s primary aim is to protect lives and properties.

“I will recommend that FCDA moves in immediately to study this situation, and if there would be demolition, the government should ensure some form of succour for those likely to be affected.”

A security agent within the estate told DAILY POST that three casualties were recorded, and their corpses have been deposited in a mortuary.

He told our correspondent that the incident was better imagined.

Meanwhile, the Director General of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Dr Abbas Idriss said Trademore estate was prone to flooding, stressing that it was on a water channel.

Idriss appealed to residents whose houses were built on the water channel to relocate, stressing that the flood at Trademore Estate was caused by infractions on the water channel.