Heavy rain kills two children, destroys houses in Jigawa

In Jigawa State, heavy rainfall resulted in the tragic loss of two children's lives and left several others hospitalized, following a building collapse in Gandun Sarki Community within Malam Madori Local Government Area. A resident, father of the deceased children, Malam Suma’ila, recounted that the unfortunate incident took place on Friday night, when the room where the children were sleeping collapsed due to the downpour.

The continuous rain, which persisted for over an hour in certain parts of Hadejia Senatorial District, caused extensive damage to numerous houses, leaving many residents homeless.

According to Malam Suma’ila, the five-year-old and eight-year-old victims tragically perished in the collapse, while other family members were rescued and transported to Hadejia General Hospital for medical care. The heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding claimed responsibility for the destruction or severe damage of more than twenty houses in the area.

One of the affected residents, Sani Abubakar, whose residence was entirely destroyed by the disaster, urgently appealed to the Jigawa State Government for assistance. The residents also implored the government to enhance drainage infrastructure and offer support to affected households, aiming to prevent similar tragedies in the future and facilitate the recovery of the victims from their losses.

However, attempts to contact the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) for a statement were unsuccessful during the time of report filing.