By David Lawani, Abuja
The estate situated in the Lugbe axis of the capital city, along the popular Airport Road, was flooded after a heavy downpour in the early hours of the weekend.
On a visit to the estate, after the rain subsided, Thisnigeria noticed that several houses, vehicles, shops, and other properties were destroyed by the flood.
An eye witness account confirmed that over 100 houses were submerged by floods.
A resident in the area confirmed to this reporter that there was no casualty contrary to reports in the media but the rains wrecked havoc in the community as the valuable property was submerged by the floods.
According to a lawyer who didn’t want her name mentioned, unlike the previous flooding in the area which swept away some residents, this time the residents were able to manage the situation to prevent loss of lives.
Although, houses and other valuable property were badly damaged but thank God for the demolition exercise carried out by FCDA last year, which actually helped to reduce the level of destruction witnessed this year.
“I guess what caused more panic was a school in Ginjas close to the flood-prone area. Before now the FCDA had asked people to leave the area but those who left later returned. Fear that the kids were in school caused more panic among the populace.
“I will suggest that something should be done about the school so that pupils won’t be exposed to unnecessary danger if it rains any time again”, She noted.
Another resident, Ozaveshe Balogun, explained that what aggravated the situation was the building that was erected on waterways, which blocked water from flowing into the drainage systems.
He stated: “ It is a flash flood and caused by rapid and excessive rainfall which raises the water level and rivers, streams, channels that run through the roads became overwhelmed by a large amount of water flowing from different directions in the area. It was a terrifying sight to behold”.
“People should stop building on waterways and desist from dumping refuse in the drainage systems. The traders have also cultivated the habit of refilling some portions of the drainage system, for easy entry and exit of the business environment: he said.
Also, Gloria Kelvin, said she lost properties worth millions of naira to the flood saying measures against flood control should have been considered while building the estate.
According to her “It happens every year and there is no solution; it is a pity. When they were developing the area they should have put this thing into consideration. The drainage system is very important. This place is a sloppy area and they didn’t consider that.
“Demolition of the houses is not a solution because it would come again as there won’t be more houses to stop the water again. They should look for a permanent solution to this problem,’’ she said.
Earlier, the spokesperson of NEMA, Manzo Ezekiel, in a statement assured that the agency will reinforce its officers to the estate with immediate effect to continue searching for other missing persons.
Mr. Ezekiel said NEMA is also partnering with other agencies and residents of the area to prevent further disaster.
It will be recalled that the residents of the estate witness such floods annually during the rainy season. Last year, several fatalities were recorded from a similar incident with residents describing it as the worst in the last decade.
Some residents expressed their views that until deliberate effort is made to arrest the situation, there will continue to be flooding in the area because people have decided to block the waterways thus making it difficult to manage the situation.
