Now, dark clouds rain fears into Gaya, Wudil residents

The heavy rainstorm which started at about 11.00 pm on Tuesday, July 6, 2010, when most of the communities were asleep, pulled off rooftops, destroyed buildings and uprooted many trees which were originally planted to serve as wind and storm breakers. Although there was no life lost to the disaster, a woman sustained a compound […]

The heavy rainstorm which started at about 11.00 pm on Tuesday, July 6, 2010, when most of the communities were asleep, pulled off rooftops, destroyed buildings and uprooted many trees which were originally planted to serve as wind and storm breakers.

Although there was no life lost to the disaster, a woman sustained a compound fracture and was admitted at the General hospital, Gaya, while a number of people who sustained minor injuries received treatments at the general hospitals of the towns. The disaster displaced residents in the affected places and also disrupted school activities.

At the Maitama Sule Science College in Gaya, one of the badly ravaged areas, 11 out of the 13 classes in the school were damaged, in addition to two students hostels that were seriously affected, as all their roofs were blown off. Also, some parts of the school’s kitchen and staff quarters were not left out. The school authorities have since sent the students home.

The principal of the school, Malam Bala Inuwa Abdullahi, told Pyramid Trust that they had rushed to the rescue of the students on noticing that the rain was wreaking havoc on staff houses. “Seven students sustained minor injuries and have been treated and discharged from the hospital,” he said.

Inuwa said the school has notified the Kano State Science and Technical School Board of the disaster and asked 393 of its students to return to their houses pending when they may be asked to join other science schools in the state to continue with their studies. However, Alhaji Inuwa said about 60 final year students were left behind to finish writing their final year exams.

Before the commencement of next school session, the Science and Technical School Board must have concluded the posting of the students to other schools, the principal said, adding that promotional and qualifying exams for the affected students are not far away.

Similarly, in Gaya township, the rainstorm affected over 250 houses, says the local government’s Assistant Head of Community Development, Yahuza Ibrahim Sani. He said the extent of the devastation varies. “Some of the buildings have had their entire roof blown off by the wind while around 15 houses collapsed completely, resulting in the occupants taking shelters at homes of relatives,” he said.

The local government official also disclosed that an assessment of the situation was being carriedout by the council, adding that emergency management agencies like National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SERERA) have been invited to come to the aid of the victims.

Also, sections of the local government secretariat, including the department of community development, were equally damaged.  Some portions of the roof were also blown off by the heavy storm.

Some of the victims who spoke to our reporters on the incidence said it was a terrible experience as they held their faith so strongly trying to console themselves by accepting it as the will of God. They however urged governments to assist them rehabilitate their destroyed houses.

One of the victims, Mohammed Auwal, said “It was like hell. We experienced real trauma as we helplessly watched our roofs blown off while some parts of the house collapsed at the middle of the night. All our belongings were soaked in the pool that formed right inside our houses but we still thank God for everything and particularly for sparing our lives. We pray that we regain our losses in due course.”

Another victim who is a housewife and mother of five, Maimuna Musa, also spoke. “My five children and I had to relocate to my parents’s house in search for a shelter as a result of the heavy rain that ravaged our house and as it is, only God knows when my husband will be able to rebuild the house so that we can go back. We are pleading with government to come to our aid,” she lamented.

About a dozen patients have been treated and discharged from General Hospital, Gaya, after the incident, while a mother was admitted for sustaining fracture due to a collapsed building, according to Ado Usman, the Chief Nursing Officer in charge of the hospital.

The fractured patient, Hauwa, told Pyramid Trust that a storey building collapsed on them as they slept. “The building collapsed and broke my leg, while I was sleeping alongside with my four children,” she said. The officials said her son who sustained a cut on the forehead was also admitted and has been discharged a day prior to when Pyramid Trust visited the hospital.

Similarly, while speaking to our reporters in respect of the havoc caused by the rainstorm in neighboring Wudil Local Government, the Chief Medical Director of Wudil General Hospital, Dr Garba Baba, said the hospital has received and treated over five cases of roofing sheet inflicted injuries.

It was also learnt that a government technical school located in the area has suffered some damages from the turbulent rain, apart from people who were also displaced due to the destruction of their homes.

However, when our reporters visited the council secretariat, the officials were said to be away attending a function at the local government’s Islamic Centre.

Also affected was the Police Academy, Wudil, where the devastating windstorm left several police officers sharing rooms with colleagues, as it pulled down the roof of their houses, just as it affected some classrooms. The Commandant of the Academy, AIG Johnson Uzuegunam, said the damage to the structures were extensive, adding that part of the institution’s indoor shooting range was also affected.

He said they are awaiting response from the Force headquarters in Abuja to carry out an assessment of the damage and rehabilitate the destroyed structures.  “We were fortunate there was no injury; only that a lot of families were displaced and they are presently staying with neighbours. But we are making alternative arrangements to ensure that the structures are repaired in good time,” he said.