The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department (FEMD) has urged residents living close to water channels to relocate as the rainy season intensifies.
The warning came after a flooding incident in the early hours of Friday affected a one-storey building at 22 Anthony Ikem Street, behind Blue Cabana Hotel in Mabushi District, Abuja.
According to a statement by FEMD Head of Public Affairs, Nkechi Isa, heavy rainfall caused the ground floor of the building to be submerged.
The agency said it “received a distress call at about 3:00 a.m.” and immediately sent its Search and Rescue Team to the scene.
Officials reported that both flats on the ground floor were flooded up to window level, while responders had to manually remove water after the pumping system failed due to a generator breakdown.
Although “no life was lost,” the flood destroyed household items, food supplies, and important documents belonging to residents.
The statement also noted that the Acting Director-General of FEMD, Abdulrahman Mohammed, urged people living near waterways to relocate as rainfall increases.
“Abdulrahman also called for the clearing of blocked drains and the removal of structures built on water channels.”
The agency further highlighted that parts of Abuja have continued to experience flash floods in recent years, largely due to blocked drainage systems, rapid urban development, and construction near natural waterways.
