HEAVY DOWNPOUR KILLS 3 IN ILORIN, DESTROYS MILLION NAIRA PROPERTIES

Residents of Offa Garage and his environs have called on government to come to their aid after Thursday’s early morning rain displaced many and destroyed their means of livelihood.
The heavy rain claimed the lives of three people including two children on holiday with their grandmother and one Abuja transport driver. It also destroyed properties worth millions of naira along Offa Garage-Challenge road.
Eyewitness accounts said the kids got drowned when one of them opened the front door of their apartment in an attempt to escape the flood that had reached the window level of the building.
Residents of the area, who spoke with our correspondents, said dwellers trooped out in the middle of the night after flood found its way into various apartments. They said their houses have collapsed due to the pressure of the heavy rain while their belongings were swept away.
One of the victims who identified himself as Mr Amos attributed the flood to the negligent attitude of some residents and the obstruction of water due to the ongoing bridge construction in the area. He said they lost their means of livelihood as the water submerged their fish ponds and washed the fishes away.
Our correspondents who visited the area, said residents were seen gathering the remaining of their properties while shop owners were still counting their losses.
About 1,000 Zaria-bound train passengers were also stranded in the city as a result of the devastating flood which swept away a large portion of soil from beneath the rail track and cut the road into two thus making it impassable for the train,
The rain also swept away about 20 vehicles around Omosebi and Adisco areas of the state capital.

One of the victims whose car got stuck along the way, Engr. Kehinde Popoola was rescued this morning by people who found him calling for help from inside the car.
He said he had parked along the way around Living Faith Church for the rain to subside after he was warned of the impact of the flood ahead.
According to him, the car was however swept off the ground by the surging flood leaving him helpless as the brake could no longer stop the car from moving.
Luck smiled on him when a big pole just by the drainage and falling cables held the car from being flushed ahead.
Rescue teams were pooling cars and other objects from gullies and other portions of the areas, leading to traffic jam along the road.
Meanwhile, Adisco– Royal Shekinah suit residents have called for the rechanneling of the Atikeke River which they say was largely responsible for the heavy impact of flood in the area.

A resident of the area Mr Kamaldeen Ismaila who is a friend to the deceased driver accused Royal Shekinah suit of covering the drainage in the area, identifying it as the major cause of this year disaster which claimed lives. He said his friend’s corpse has been taken to the mortuary.
The General Manager of Royal Shekinah Suit, Mr Eyitayo, who disagreed with the accusation, said what Shekinah did is being done in foreign countries because it prevents loss of lives during flood.
While commending the State government for his effort in improving the state, Eyitayo however called for the channelization of the Atikeke river the area to prevent reoccurrence.