Metro
NEMA Assesses Damage Caused By Flooding In Gwagwalada, Giri
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Sunday, visited victims of Saturday’s flooding in Gwagwalada Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
The visit was to ascertain the level of destruction caused by the flood that submerged more than 50 buildings in the territory.
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the flood from a downpour that ensued from Friday night to the early hours of Saturday, submerged more than 50 buildings, Gwagwalada bridge as well as pulled down electricity poles.
The visit covered Agwan Kaura and Giri community, among others.
AVM Muhammadu Mohammed, Director-General, NEMA, while speaking with newsmen after inspection of the affected area, sympathised with victims of the flood.
Mohammed, represented by Mr Kayode Fagbemi, Director, Planning, Research and Forecasting, NEMA, attributed the cause of the flood to obstruction by buildings on waterways.
“We still want to educate people that live on waterways to move because this is just July and we will still have more rainfalls.
“We want to plead with people to clear their drainages, waterways should be cleared of waste and people who live close to waterways like this should move to higher grounds.
“We do not want to loose more lives because we want people to know that flooding has been predicted this year and whatever we can do to save lives, we will continue to do it.
“Yes, the government will provide relief materials but that cannot bring lives back, so we want to plead with people in flood prone areas to move,” he said.
Mrs Florence Wenegieme, Deputy Director, Forecasting, Response and Mitigation, FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said that five people lost their lives as a result of the flooding.
“Five people got drowned, but we are able to recover one body, we came back today to continue with the search and we got information that a body of a woman was seen in Gomani village in Kwali Area Council.
“But search is still on going for the remaining three people because it’s a mother and her four children that we are searching for, though, we saw the body of one of her children yesterday.
“However, we do not know if it was her body that was seen in Gomani village, but we are still searching for their bodies,” she said.
Mr Geoffrey Okere, a victim, while recounting his losses, said that the rain started as early as 3 a.m and the level of the water increased before 6 a.m.
“I lost my documents, fridge, television and so many things washed away by the water, as every effort to move our things proved abortive.
“I have been living in this place for more than 20 years now and nothing like this has happened because many years ago, our building was very far from the stream and over the years, the stream started coming closer.
“I plead with the government to help us in anyway because right now, I don’t know where to go,” he said.
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