Suleja flood: FCT raises the alarm, warns residents
Kubwa, Kwali, Gwagwalada, as well as other satellite towns across the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), may be in danger of being affected by flood if appropriate measures are not taken to avoid unnecessary blockage of drainages.
This alarm, however, was raised by the Director General, Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Alhaji Abbas G. Idris, while briefing the media on the Agency’s two year scorecard of the present administration.
According to the DG, the FCT in the aftermath the dreaded flooding that devastated Suleja, the commercial city of Niger State recently, which saw about 10 people dead and property worth millions washed away by landslide caused by the flood, needs to be prepared for any emergency.
Further speaking, Idris warned that indeed FCT residents should be wary of blockage of drainage within their domains to help avoid the disaster now that rainy season is here.
While stressing on the activities of the agency in the last two years, he said that his leadership has responded to a total of 486 fire calls and 40 rescue calls in 2014.
He also said that his agency responded to over 406 fire calls in 2016 all relating to residential, business, schools, offices, bush burning as well as bomb blasts including other related fire incidents from members of the public in the FCT.
He remarked that property worth three billion one hundred and three million six hundred thousand naira (N3, 103, 6000,000.00) was saved in 2015 while property worth two billion one hundred and three million four hundred thousand naira (N2, 465,400,000.00) was also saved in 2016.
He said that over 172 lives were saved out of the rescue operations in 2015 while 163 lives were saved in 2016.
Idris said that the emergency unit, before now, had developed a comprehensive Emergency response plan (ERP) and has remained active in continuously responding to emergency situations in the FCT.
On the internally displaced persons in the FCT, he said that his office has been profiling all inmates in various settlements across the territory, stating that about 10, 000 IDPS are at the moment at various settlements being taken care of in the FCT, while others are still trooping in.
We have also taken care of various diseases prevalent in the IDPS with good collaboration with the Health institutions to contain some emergence of diseases,” Idris said.
Most of them, he also observed, were engaged on possible vocational works to help them rebuild their selves.
Meanwhile, the FCT Administration has announced that the wife of Mr. President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, in an effort to make contributions to alleviate suffering of the IDPS and also to help in their education, volunteered to train about 300 persons through scholarship.
