Three-year-old boy killed, 100 houses destroyed in Sokoto flood, windstorm

Twin disasters of flood and windstorm have led to the death of a three-year-old boy, Sheriff Bashir, in Tudun-Yando village, Dange-Shuni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
A News Agency of Nigeria Correspondent, who visited the area learnt that the disasters occurred in the early hours of Saturday, sequel to a downpour and windstorm.
NAN also reports that no fewer than 100 houses and public buildings in several adjoining villages were destroyed as a result of the incidents.
The villages affected included Tudun Yan-dogo, Kwanar Kinba, Dogon Marke, Shuni town, Rafin Ali, Betta and Kadabale.
The father of the deceased, Bashir Aliyu, said that his child died after a wall fell on him at around 3am on Saturday.
Aliyu said: “My dead child had since been buried and the family had regarded his demise as an act of God.”
NAN also reports that assorted farm produce and domestic wares had been destroyed by the disasters, while hundreds of livestock were killed.
The member of the state House of Assembly representing Dange-Shuni constituency, Alhaji Aminu Bodai, had visited the victims and commiserated with them.
Bodai said: “The victims need immediate assistance and this should be extended to them by the local and state governments.
“I will also report the disasters to the assembly with a view to attracting urgent relief to the victims.”
The chairman of the Local Government, Alhaji Mode Dantasallah, also expressed shock at the incidents and promised to immediately provide temporary shelters to the victims.
Dantasallah said: “The Local Government will also immediately set up a 10-man committee to assess the extent of damage caused by the disasters.
“The committee will also recommend the types of assistance to be rendered to the victims to enable them rebuild their houses and get some food to feed their families.
“We will also team up with the state government with a view to rendering the needed large-scale assistance to the victims.”
The Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Hassan Maccido, also said the agency would soon send a team of experts to the villages to ascertain the extent of damage caused by the disasters.
Maccido said the team would recommend the forms of reliefs to be immediately provided to the victims.
NAN.