Flooding: FCTA declares Trademore estate disaster area

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has declared the Trademore Estate located in the Lugbe area of the city a disaster area following a flood that submerged buildings in the area last week.

At least 116 buildings were submerged by flood after a heavy downpour in the FCT on June 23.

The Permanent Secretary of the FCTA, Mr. Olusade Adesola, made the declaration during an assessment visit to the area on Tuesday.

He was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mr. Shehu Hadi, the Director of Development Control, Mr. Mukhtar Galadima, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Garba Haruna, and other senior officials of the FCTA.

Adesola said: “Having seen the extent of the flooding, we hereby declare the Trademore area a disaster zone that needs immediate action to remedy further damages and loss of lives and properties.

“This is part of steps to address the incessant flooding at the Trademore Estate.

“I want to assure residents that adequate steps will be taken to forestall further damages to properties and loss of lives to flooding at the Estate.”

Adesola said a Taskforce on Flood Mitigation in the FCT comprising heads of relevant agencies in the city would assess the situation and make recommendations for remedial actions.

 

“The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) who chairs the task force on flood mitigation in the FCT is here.

“The Commissioner of Police and other officials of the FCT, particularly FEMA, Development Control, and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board are all here.

“They saw what we saw, and they are now ready to go and evolve solutions that will immediately address the situation,” the permanent secretary added.

Adesola, who expressed shock at the level of flooding at the estate also decried development activities in flood-prone areas with serious consequences to lives and properties.

He decried the return of people to the affected properties, a few days after the flooding despite the dangers of imminent future incidents.

He vowed that the FCT Administration would not allow the situation to continue. 

“We were quite amazed at the level of flooding that occurred at Trademore. More particular is the risk that people took to build on such a low-level plain.

“While on the road, you will see that even the roofs of some of the houses are below the road level, which ab initio made them vulnerable to flooding,” he concluded.

 

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