Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
A flash flood caused by a heavy downpour in some parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday claimed the lives of a family of three at the Lokogoma Village in the precinct of the Abuja Municipal Council Area (AMAC).
Many people were also yet to be accounted for while several houses belongings, estimated at millions of naira, were also lost.
The disaster led to the death of a father, his son and daughter.
It was the second major flooding within a space of three weeks after similar incident in Dei-Dei, also led to the death of a man.
THISDAY learnt at the scene that the family met their untimely death while driving to Jabi, when their car was overpowered by the running water. It was gathered that the man, whose identity could not be identified, slipped into a canal, when he was trying to rescue his children, who were washed by the flood while trying to move from their car.
Officers of the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), on the order of FCT Minister Mohammed Musa Bello, evacuated the affected Galadimawa- Lokogoma communities and offered emergency response for those affected.
They were also joined in the rescue mission by members of the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
The recovered corpses were later deposited at the Jabi Hospital morgue in the FCT.
While narrating the incident, the Director-General of FEMA Abbas Idriss, said the flood happened in the early hours of the morning as a result of the heavy rains that fell overnight.
He lamented that perennial flooding this year had become worrisome developmentsin the territory.
“There was flooding in Lokogoma District, which unfortunately led to the death of a father, his daughter and son this morning,’’ Idriss said.
He said the heavy rainfall overwhelmed the canal in the affected community, causing the entire environs to be flooded with rain water.
He also added that the victim’s Toyota Camry car was yet to be recovered from the flood, assuring that FEMA had concluded arrangements to investigate the incident properly in the next coming days.
