Heavy rain kills two children, destroys houses in Jigawa

At least two children have died while several others were hospitalised after heavy rainfall caused a building to collapse in Gandun Sarki Community, Malam Madori Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

A resident and father of the deceased children, Malam Suma’ila, said the incident occurred on Friday night when the room where the children were sleeping collapsed.

He said the downpour, which lasted for more than an hour in parts of Hadejia Senatorial District, also destroyed several houses and rendered many residents homeless.

According to him, the victims, aged five and eight, died in the incident, while other members of the family were rescued and taken to Hadejia General Hospital for medical treatment.

He added that more than 20 houses were either completely destroyed or badly damaged by the heavy rainfall and flooding.

Another resident, Sani Abubakar, whose house was completely destroyed, appealed to the Jigawa State Government to provide urgent assistance to families affected by the disaster.

The residents also called on the government to strengthen drainage infrastructure and provide support to affected households to prevent similar disasters and help victims recover from their losses.

Efforts to reach the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.