The Federal Capital Territory Disaster Management Agency has prepared a tour of the territory’s flood-prone areas because the rainy season is anticipated to officially start in May.
This information was revealed in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja by Dr. Abbas Idriss, the Director General of FEMA.
Idriss stated that the FCT and 178 other local governments nationwide were extremely likely to be flood-risk locations according to the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency’s 2023 Annual Flood Forecast.
In order to lessen the effects of floods, he continued, all hands would be on deck with other stakeholders. He also said that the demolition of shanties in some regions of the FCT was a part of the measures to unblock canals so that water could flow freely.
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“We intend to assess the infrastructural improvements made by the Federal Capital Development Authority, and other stakeholders towards preventing or mitigating the impact of flooding in the FCT.
All hands are on deck to ensure that flood, even when it happens, will not be devastating. You will see that since the last rainy season, we are still working to remove shanties to open the blocked waterways to allow free flow of water when the rain comes”.
The statement stated that the ongoing demolition was premised on the agency’s “assessment and findings on the blockage of waterways with illegal structures”, adding that “this helped in 2022, which is why we did not have any fatalities from flooding in the FCT. We are expecting the same this year and we are already working to mitigate the impact of floods”.
The DG urged locals to support the agency’s actions and promised that it will keep tearing down buildings constructed in violation of the Abuja Master Plan.
Story adapted from Punch
