From Ahmad Saka, Bauchi
Pregnant woman, nine others injures as Rainstorm have destroyed Over 500 houses in Misau local government area of Bauchi state.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of Misau local government area, Hon. Salisu Hussain Hardawa, confirmed the incident today while speaking with newsmen in Bauchi, He said the affected households have found themselves in a difficult and sympathetic situation that need quick response.
He said all the 10 injured victims were taken to Misau General Hospital for medical attention, the pregnant Woman is presently in the labor room, while a woman brake her leg one was taken to Federal Medical Center FMC Azare.
Hardawa said Governor Bala Mohammed sent State Emergency Management Agency SEMA to access the situation.
Chairman sympathized with the victims of the rainstorm, prayed God to avert future occurrence and replace what they lost as a result of the natural disaster.
Hardawa, called on the Bauchi state government for intervention through provision of relief materials to cushion the effect of the unfortunate incident on the victims.
He expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost in the incident, attributed the sad development to poor tree planting attitude by people in Northern part of Bauchi state and appealed to the general public to imbibe the culture of tree planting in order to address desert encroachment.
Hardawa said despite the present economic hardship, the affected people in Misau lost properties worth millions of Naira.
The Director General State Emergency Management Agency Bala Yakubu Lame said they are accessing the situation to give their report to the state government for intervention.
One of the victims, Ibrahim Abubakar Yunusa, said that the rainstorm destroyed fences and houses completely.
“We have found ourselves in this situation of rainstorm which wrecked havoc here in Area one, Misau. You can see how fences and houses have fallen, some houses have been destroyed completely, we are in difficult situation now”,
“the rainstorm may not be unconnected with global warming as well as indiscriminate felling of trees which is resulting to desert encroachment.”
While appealing for assistance from the government, Yunusa urged the government and the civil society Organizations to embark on vigorous sensitization and awareness creation campaign on the need for people to plant trees around them in order to address the situation.
Commenting on the incident, the Misau Local Government Secretary of the Red Cross Society of Nigeria, Mohammed Yakubu (KANI), confirmed that the incident affected many houses.
Kani who said, in some places, walls collapsed on the occupants of the houses, leading to minor injuries, expressed gratitude to God that no life loss has so far been recorded.
The secretary of the Red Cross in the local government said that the injured ones are receiving treatment in the hospital.
Kani while cautioning residents to stop felling trees indiscriminately, maintained that desert encroachment, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, building on waterways as well as blocking drainages are some of the factors responsible for the tragic incident.
