Over 10,000 residents of Lanto Community in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have been left stranded as floods from heavy downpour cut them off. 

The residents, speaking with SaharaReporters on Friday, also lamented loss of lives and properties.

Videos and photographs taken from the only access road leading to the community by Monitng, a civic technology platform, showed that the community has been flooded. 

The residents told SaharaReporters that properties worth millions of Naira had also been destroyed.

People could be seen struggling to cross the water as they fall and rise with the torrent of the water tossing them to and fro. 

A resident of the community who gave his name as Tony said, “Over 10,000 residents have been cut off from the community. So far, properties and lives have been lost. This is an urgent call to the FCT Minister to take urgent action and consider this community as a priority for funds that they use in building roads. 

“This community should be taken into consideration to see that the road that leads to the community is fixed as soon as possible. The Minister should also try as much as possible to fix the drainage system in the community so that residents can have access to their places. 

“Currently, residents have been cut off and they can’t even access their farmlands. They can’t even go out for their daily businesses and this has made them lose millions of Naira and pupils in the community no longer go to school because they can’t come out. Everything has affected their daily living.”

Another resident who simply identified himself as Usman said that though no lives have been lost this year, “It has become a yearly occurrence that the community loses at least three persons every year to flooding on this road.

“But as I speak with you, many residents here have lost their motorcycles, farm products and commodities to the floods while trying to cross. 

“This is the only access road in this community and we have no option but to go through it but many people while trying to cross, the water would almost carry them and they just leave their bikes and farm products and commodities to the water instead of their lives.

“It is a big problem because from the beginning, there is no bridge on the river which passes through the road. People have been complaining but no help has come. We are calling on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and the FCT Senator, Ireti Kingibe, to quickly come to our aid.”