1,300 houses, others damaged by windstorm in Jigawa

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident, which occurred on Tuesday night, wreaked havoc.

The Special Assistant to Gov. Muhammad Badaru on Community Development and Social Inclusion, Alhaji Hamza Muhammad, told NAN on Saturday, that over 1,300 houses were either destroyed or damaged by the disaster.

Muhammad said that the disaster also damaged some parts of the area’s General Hospital, water facilities and schools.

“From the assessment report I received yesterday, apart from these, the windstorm also damaged the rooftop of the Kafin Hausa General Hospital’s maternity and emergency wards and those of some schools in the area.

“It also brought down some of the water facilities’ overhead tanks, as well as one of the telecommunications masts in the area,” Muhammad said.

He, however, added that the patients at the maternity ward were safely moved to other health facilities.

The aide further explained that the state government, in collaboration with State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), had been in the area since Wednesday, assessing the level of damage caused by the disaster.

This, according to him, is to enable the government and the agencies ascertain the extent of destruction caused by the disaster, with a view to intervene and provide succour to the victims.

“I went there on behalf of the state government because the governor asked me to do so. So myself, personnel of SEMA and NEMA, including those from the council, are still there doing our best to see that we intervened and support the victims.

“But you cannot support without knowing the exact number of people affected. So by Monday, a comprehensive report will be submitted to the state government for prompt action.”

Muhammad also said the state ministries of Health and Water Resources had visited the area, assessed the level of damages on their infrastructure and directed for immediate repairs.

“This is because health and water are important things which need urgent attention,” Muhammad added.