A number of residents of Trademore Estate in Lugbe, in the Federal Capital Territory,FCT, Abuja have been trapped by a flood occasioned by heavy downpour, with property worth hundreds of millions of naira damaged on Friday, June 23.
Sources said that some able bodied men made frantic efforts to rescue those trapped in their houses and compounds. Many vehicles were also submerged.
He said that some residents of the estate were also seen during the downpour, trying to salvage their property after their houses were overrun by the flood.
Recall that, this is not the first time the disaster would be hitting the Trademore Estate. It has over the years suffered from a series of devastating effects of flooding with lives and property worth billions of naira lost.
For instance, in September 2021,three persons reportedly died in the estate after a downpour that caused a heavy flood. And in 2022, the flood that hit the area did not leave any damage behind, despite the heavy rainfall.
Residents of the estate had said the flooding is caused by the absence of adequate drainage system or water canal.
But, an unnamed official of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, who spoke on the development informed that part of the grave consequence of the Friday flood was that a driver of Peugeot 406 with the registration number YLA 681 FS got drowned in the flood and still missing.
He added that four persons were rescued and were confirmed to be in stable condition.
The official also assued that already, stakeholders in emegency and rescue responses like NEMA, Fire Service, FCT FEMA, Red Cross and the federal ministry of environment flood department were present to ameliorate the conditions of the flood victims and provide necessary rescue to those who may be trapped or drowned in the process.
The official appealed to the residents living in the flood-prone areas of the estate to evacuate to a safer place.
He said that, “If you know you live in a house built in a flood-prone area, kindly move to a safer place even if for nothing, just to save a life. Properties can go.
“You can see how the water has submerged all these vehicles.
“Don’t underestimate the power of water, it can wash people away. We are pleading, we do not want any loss of lives this year.”
Residents of the Trademore Estate are unanimous in their observation that the flood disaster is caused by the absence of adequate drainage system and water canal in the estate.
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