Heavy Rainfall Submerges Lugbe, Abuja

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

A police station was submerged and a link road was cut off and several property damaged after a heavy rainfall caused flooding at Trademore Estate, Abuja.

The rain, which started early yesterday morning, fell for several hours.

Emmanuel Mbaka Road which connects that estate with the Abuja International Road was impassable as a result of the volume of the rain.

Many buildings in the estate including a police station were also submerged. That led many residents to take refuge on the roofs of their houses.

Search and rescue teams from National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Fire Service, FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were mobilised to provide support to persons desperate for assistance.

The Director General of FEMA, Dr. Idriss Abbass, said that 116 houses were submerged during the heavy floods.

He dismissed as untrue social media reports alleging that a resident of the estate was missing during the floods.

Four persons who were rescued from the flood were hospitalised and in stable conditions.

Several residents of the estate were seen waddling through the puddle, trying to salvage their belongings after their houses were submerged in the flood.

Trademore Estate which lies on a slope terrain in Lugbe has over the years experienced recurrent flooding that causes loss of lives and property.

Blocked drainage, poor engineering work and stark violation of Abuja Masterplan by developers are some of the reasons why the estate is always flooded during the rainy season.

In a statement, Idriss commiserated with victims of the flooding.

He noted that floods at Trademore Estate were caused by infractions on the water channel and appealed to residents whose houses are built on the water channel to relocate.

He said Trademore was on the water channel and therefore vulnerable to floods.

He stated that the floods had receded, and therefore appreciated all stakeholders, residents and residents for their efforts and cooperation at Trademore Estate to ensure that no life was lost.