Trademore Estate, located in Lugbe along Airport Road in the nation’s capital, suffered a flash flood leaving many houses and vehicles submerged after an early morning downpour.
The FCT Emergency Management Agency said 116 were affected after heavy rainfal which started early Friday morning.
Dr Abbas Idriss, the Director-General, FEMA, said the flood which was caused by infractions on the water channels, had made the estate to be vulnerable to flooding.
The FEMA boss dismissed social media reports alleging that a resident of the estate was missing as a result of the flood.
He however appealed to residents whose houses were built on water channels to relocate.
Idriss who recalled that the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency had predicted heavy flooding in the FCT this year, also advised residents living on flood prone areas to relocate.
He called on the residents to use the 112 Emergency toll free number to report emergencies
The rain which started around 9 am on Friday caused a traffic jam as residents were trapped in their homes.
Idriss said that the flood which was caused by infractions on the water channels, had made the Estate to be vulnerable to flooding.
The FEMA boss dismissed social media reports alleging that a resident of the estate was missing as a result of the flood.
Although no life was lost, the Chairman of the residents association, Mr Adewale Adenaike said the association was worried that the flash floods had become an annual occurrence within the estate.
The FCT Emergency Management Agency advised residents to avoid driving on flowing water after rainfall. The Agency’s Director, Forecasting, Response and Mitigation, Florence Wenegieme has advised owners of houses built on the waterway to vacate their locations.
“If you realise that your house was built on a waterway, please leave that location and move to higher ground. Thank God we are Africans, we have friends and relatives.
“Please, don’t insist that you must live there because you paid for that house. If you know you are living in a house that is built in a flood-prone area, kindly move to a safer place”, she said on Channels Television.
Trademore Estate has been ravaged by floods during previous rainy seasons with the FCT Administration repeatedly promising to mitigate the flood, only for the disaster to continue to reoccur annually.
A similar flood in 2022 claimed three lives.
