Francis Sardauna in Katsina
Not less than 100 houses have been reportedly destroyed by flood in Mashi and Musawa Local Government Areas of Katsina State after a heavy downpour in the areas on Sunday night.
The downpour, which was said to have lasted for two hours, was accompanied by windstorm that pulled down roofs and walls of houses in most of the areas visited by THISDAY on Monday.
During the visit to the communities, people whose houses were affected by the flood were seen sitting under trees and uncompleted buildings, while some household property that could not be salvaged from the heavy downpour were scattered all over the place.
Some of the victims, who spoke to THISDAY, lamented that they now sleep on the floor with mats in uncompleted buildings.
Umar Husseini Mashi, whose building comprising five rooms was destroyed by the storm, lamented that the unfortunate incident has caused him untold hardship, hence the need for urgent assistance from both the state and the federal governments as well as philanthropic individuals and groups.
He said: “It was a heavy downpour accompanied with windstorm. It lasted for many hours and it removed the roof of house. Shortly after, the entire house went down forcing my family and myself to seek refuge somewhere. My wife’s leg has been broken while moving some of our belongings.
“I am pleading with the state and federal governments as well as public-spirited individuals to come to our rescue before the situation gets out of hand.â€
Another victim, Jamilu Maifadan-Mashi, said natural disaster had become too frequent in the area, stressing that Malumfashi and its environs had been suffering from heavy rains and windstorm on yearly basis.
“In an agrarian community such as this, the impact is always too heavy because it destroys our farms and houses. But what can we do? It is a natural disaster. We need help urgently if not it will be practically difficult to return the people to a state of normalcy,†he added.
He appealed to the federal government through NEMA to urgently assist, as according to him, the situation is beyond what the state government could cope with.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of Katsina State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Aminu Waziri, in an interview with THISDAY, confirmed the development but could not give the figure of the affected houses and property lost during the windstorm.
According to him, “My officials have visited Musawa today to ascertain the number of the affected houses and other properties lost during the downpour. We shall visit Mashi tomorrow on the same assessment thereafter, we will submit our report to the state government for quick intervention.”
