[VIDEO] Flooding: FCTA declares Trademore Estate disaster zone, mulls evacuation

The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has declared the Trademore Estate in Lugbe and its environs a disaster zone, saying there is need for immediate action on the flood-prone community which had seen many killed and property destroyed in the last few years.

Permanent Secretary in the FCTA, Mr Olusade Adesola stated this on Tuesday during an on the spot assessment of the estate which was hit by a deadly flood on Thursday, killing at least two persons and submerging no fewer than 116 houses.

Also, the FCTA says it is looking at coming up with a programme of evacuating people from the area in order to prevent further casualties.

According to Adesola, the incident at Trademore Estate was among the issues reviewed at Tuesday’s FCT Monthly Security Committee meeting, which considered recommendations to mitigate the impact of flooding in the territory.

Adesola, who led senior FCTA officials and heads of security and paramilitary agencies in the FCT, on an assessment tour of the affected areas, said they were amazed that only two days after the flood, people have returned to some of the properties.

He however added that the FCDA Executive Secretary, who chairs the Taskforce on Flood Mitigation in FCT, the Commissioner of Police and other officials of the FCTA particularly FEMA, Development Control, and the environmental board AEPB are now ready to evolve solutions that would immediately address the menace.

He said; “We just visited Trademore to see the developmental challenges occasioned by the nature of the drainage constructed against water across the roads in the area. We have seen the need to look into this urgently.

“We were quite amazed at the level of flooding that occurred here (Trademore Estate). More particularly is the risk that people took – to build in such a low level plain. While on the road, we saw that even the roof of the houses were below the road level, which makes them vulnerable to flooding.

“The taskforce will immediately swing into action to make recommendations on urgent attention that must be given to the area as we cannot fold our hands and allow the destruction to continue.

“We were amazed that only two days after the flood, people have returned to some of the properties. So, in a couple of days, we will be taking appropriate actions. Having seen the extent of the flooding, we hereby declare the Trademore Estate area a disaster zone that needs immediate action to remedy further damages and loss of lives and properties.

“So, we will look at a programme of evacuating people from those areas, so as to ensure that we prevent the loss of lives and property.

“For the rest of the year, rain predictions show that there might still be more heavy rains, which means that there could be damages and casualty. And the FCTA will do everything possible within its power to ensure that we mitigate such occurrence”, he added