No fewer that 148 houses have been destroyed by flood which ravaged various parts of Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

According to reports, no life was lost during the incident, which occurred on Saturday but the disaster struck terribly, affecting the headquarters of the local government, Galadunchin-tsauri, Gidan-Dogaza, as well as ‘Yar-Gada villages.

One of the victims of the flood, Buhari Alhassan, expressed happiness that there was no loss of life, and appealed to the state and federal governments, as well as other donor agencies, to assist them.

“We have lost all our belongings and food to the disaster and we are currently surviving with the mercies of God, relatives and other well-wishers,” Alhassan said.

The Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the local government, Alhaji Aminu Aya, disclosed that most of the victims have taken to squatting with relatives and neighbours until their damaged houses are rehabilitated.

“In the meantime, N820, 000 has been set aside for the immediate purchase of assorted relief materials to be donated to the victims.

“They include food, blankets, rubber mats and other materials to help in providing assistance to them,” he stated.

Aminu further said the incident has been reported to the State Government through the State Emergency Management Agency and also revealed that the council had set up a seven-man committee which has assessed the extent of damage caused by the floods.

“The farm produce stored in silos and some farmlands had been washed away. In the same vein, the extent of damage caused by the disaster had been conservatively put at millions of naira.

“We are therefore appealing to the state and federal governments to come to the immediate aid of the victims as they had lost everything they had before the disaster struck”, Aminu said.