FCT Emergency Agency Warns Residents Near Waterways to Relocate

The Punch reports on the urgent appeal from the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department (FEMD) for residents in flood-prone areas to consider relocating as the rainy season intensifies. This advisory comes in the wake of a recent flooding incident in the Mabushi District of Abuja, which saw a residential building inundated by floodwaters.

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it received a distress call at about 3:00 a.m. and immediately deployed its Search and Rescue Team to the scene.

The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, led to the submersion of the ground floor of a building located at 22 Anthony Ikem Street. FEMD's Search and Rescue Team responded to a distress call and manually evacuated water after the generator for the pumping machine failed. Although no lives were lost, the flood caused significant damage to household items, food supplies, and important documents.

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no life was lost,

FEMD Acting Director-General, Abdulrahman Mohammed, emphasized the need for residents living close to water channels to relocate and stressed the importance of clearing blocked drains and removing structures encroaching on waterways. These measures are crucial given the recurrent flash floods experienced in parts of Abuja in recent years, often attributed to poor urban planning, including blocked drainage systems and construction near natural waterways. The agency's proactive warning aims to prevent further loss and damage as the seasonal rainfall intensifies, highlighting the vulnerability of low-lying communities.

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Meanwhile, the Acting Director-General of FEMD, Abdulrahman Mohammed, has appealed to residents living close to water channels to relocate as the rainy season intensifies.