One dead, houses, schools destroyed as rainstorm hits Sokoto

One person has been reported dead and over 100 houses destroyed after a rainstorm swept through 15 villages in Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The Council Chairman of the area, Alhaji Abdullahi Haruna told NAN that seven other persons, including a mother and her three children, sustained various degrees of injuries during the rainstorm.

According to him, “The local government council secretariat, schools and other public places are among the buildings destroyed by the storm.

“The strong wind and heavy rain started around 5 p.m. on Friday and lasted for 30 minutes, but the damage it caused was enormous.

“So far, we have been able to identify more than 100 houses destroyed by the rainstorm. A committee has been set up to assess the extent of the damage.”

The chairman further attributed the extent of the destruction on the use of substandard building materials for building in the area.

“We call on the Works Department of the local government to ensure that people comply with the standard building regulations forthwith.

“Meanwhile responses from the State Emergency Management Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency for assistance have been satisfactory.

“On our part, we are waiting for the report of the committee before deciding on what to do for the victims.’’

Also speaking on the incident, the Head of Sokoto Zonal Operations of NEMA, Suleiman Muhammad, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the agency had been notified about the disaster.

“The agency will soon dispatch a technical team to assess the situation before deciding on the type of relief materials to donate to the victims,’’ Muhammad said.