Abbas Laments Flood at Abuja Estate, Seeks Measure to Avert Recurrence

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has bemoaned the flood that ravaged the Trademore Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, which caused severe destruction of property worth millions of Naira.

In a statement he released yesterday, Abbas said it was highly regrettable that people going about their normal lives with their families found themselves in such difficult situation.

The speaker sympathised with the residents of the Trademore Estate, Lugbe over the unfortunate incident.

He recalled that relevant government agencies had before the rainy season alerted the public to the possibility of flood in some parts of the country, saying the public must heed such warnings.

Abbas called on the authorities to swing into action to avert the reoccurrence of the incident, reiterating the need for the public to take all necessary measures to avoid flood prone areas.

However, most residents of the estate located on Airport Road, Abuja, have been trapped in their houses and many of them have been displaced, as massive flood submerged the estate after a torrential rainfall that lasted for hours on Friday.

It was observed that almost all the houses in the estate were submerged, while vehicles and other structures were also seen submerged in the flood, with residents trapped in their houses without option of how to get out to safety as at the time of this report.

At the area where Christ Embassy Church is located in the estate, some people, who were outside waiting for the rain to subside had to scamper to safety because of the surging flood, and some passers-by were seen trying to rescue some trapped residents while the waves of the flood continued to increase.

One of the affected residents, Mrs. Agnes, who was rescued from the flood before her house was submerged, lamented that they did not expect the flood in the estate this year, because they thought that the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) had mitigated the causes of the annual flood incident.