Fred Itua, Abuja
Early morning rains wreaked havoc on Zuba, in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Saturday, with many houses built on waterways devastated in the wake of the downpour.
Sunday Sun gathered that the heavy rain, which started around 2 am Saturday morning, killed at least three children, whose houses were submerged, with their parents trying to save them, but to no avail.
The torrential rain washed away cars and pulled down buildings. The rain also destroyed the bridge leading to Ikwa, Yimi, and other villages inside Zuba, leaving motorists turning to take alternative roads that were also not motorable.
VIDEO: Flood Takes Over Abuja Roads, Catholic Church In Gwagwalada After Downpour@OfficialFCTA @NigeriaGov
WATCH FULL VIDEO: https://t.co/GUox5yDYAQ pic.twitter.com/3QAnsWfTmH— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) July 25, 2020
Residents were seen in clusters, empathising and sympathising with affected families whose properties had been washed off
Sunday Sun further learnt that over a hundred houses along the waterways were affected in various degrees. All the houses, about ten to twenty metres from the riverbank, were completely submerged.
Related: 15-hour-long torrential rains flood Makurdi
A man whose house was submerged made frantic efforts to save his children with the help of sympathetic neighbours. While also submerged by the water, he rescued one of the children, with neighbours helping to carry the child to safety.
But an attempt to ferry the second child to safety turned tragic as the child mistakenly fell into the water and was washed away.
So far, three children have been declared dead and properties worth millions of naira destroyed. When our correspondent visited the scene, several residents were seen drying their clothes, mattresses and other personal items salvaged from the flood.
Meanwhile, the Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Idriss Abbas, said that there was a building collapse in Dawaki as a result of the flood.
‘A family of five were washed away at Giri. We got one body and are still searching for four. We rescued six people and are in the hospital. The flood has damaged a lot of houses and property, especially at Gwagwalada. The residents are still saying some are missing, but they cannot give us the identities of such persons who they claim to be missing,’ he said.
He advised the public to be careful during the rains; cautioning against driving on water and building on flood plains. He also advised that the public respect the master plan of the FCT, and to ensure that all drainages are clean. ‘What happened in Giri-Gota was because people built on a flood plain,’ he said.