By Adelani Adepegba

No fewer than five members of a family were swept away by a flood at Giri Quarters in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Saturday.

The incident occurred also in the early hours of Saturday following a downpour in the town and surrounding communities.

The Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, confirmed to our correspondents that the incident at Giri Quarters, stating that a body had been recovered while the search for the others was ongoing.

He said, “There was a family of five at Giri Quarters that were swept away by a flood and we have recovered the body of a family member; we are still searching for the remaining four. There was no flood at Lokogoma, though it rained heavily. We are opening channels and drainage in Lokogoma, so the water has free access now.”

Idriss also disclosed that other parts of the FCT, including Kuje and Gwagwalada, also recorded flooding during the overnight downpour.

He, however, said he was not aware of any casualty in the Gwagwalada incident. Unconfirmed reports noted that 30 persons were feared missing in the flood in Gwagwalada.