By Iyke Obi Durumba
At least three people have been confirmed dead in Abuja floods which affected the Lugbe, Airport Road axis of the city.
Heavy rains on Sunday evening caused a river to overflow its banks in the Trademore Estate washing away motorists and their vehicles along the newly-built Emmanuel Mbaka Boulevard.
One of the victims, a civil servant, was visiting the estate when he was caught in the flooding. His vehicle, a Landrover SUV, was washed off the bridge and swept downstream during the rains which lasted over four hours on Sunday night. His corpse was recovered on Monday morning by a combined team of National Emergency Management Agency and residents. Two more bodies were recovered farther downstream of the same river.
Speaking to Daybreak News, the Head of Abuja Operations of the National Emergency Response Team Uwazuruonye Justin confirmed the three casualties and stressed that further efforts were ongoing to assess the damage.
“The rain started around 7pm and the flooding occurred a few hours later. When we received emergency calls, we responded immediately. As a frontline response agency, NEMA is a coordinating body so we called the FCT Fire Department who is the lead agency for emergency rescues and we were all here throughout the night and continued this morning.”
“We are also trying to get the Federal Road Safety Commission to deploy their Hyaab to help retrieve several other vehicles still lying in the river. It’s an ongoing operation,” he said.
Trademore Estate has become notorious for the flooding which occurs seasonally in the area. Part of the 5000-house estate lies close to a river which often bursts its banks after heavy rain. Several lives have been lost to flooding in the same location in the past which led to the construction of the entire Voice of Nigeria/Emmanuel Mbaka Boulevard by the Ecological Fund in 2019.
Meanwhile the Trademore Police Division Headquarters was also sacked by the rampaging flood waters. Flood waters invaded the premises and submerged patrol vehicles and other cars parked in the premises. Policemen could be seen trying to salvage office equipment and personal belongings from the thick mud on Monday morning.
Residents of the mega estate suffered huge losses as many were rendered homeless, more than 100 vehicles were submerged and damaged, fences collapsed and homes flooded.
There is anger over the recurring flood in Trademore Estate. Residents demand a permanent solution to the menace which has claimed too many lives. A lawyer and real estate developer who also lives in the estate queried NEMA’s response time to the emergency. “We were the ones who formed human chains around 2am trying to rescue trapped families and NEMA was nowhere in sight.” He attributed the flooding to uncontrolled real estate development in the area which blocked the free flow of the river. He called on the Development Control Unit of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council to be more proactive in monitoring estate development rather than chasing mills whenever disaster occurs.
Pharmacies, Supermarkets, a DSTV dealership and school were among businesses affected.
