HEAVY FLOODING IN ZARIA LEAVES 470 CHILDREN DISPLACED, 270 HOMES DESTROYED
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By: Sefiu Ajape
A two-day torrential rainfall that hit Zaria in Kaduna State from Thursday night to Friday morning has displaced over 470 children and destroyed no fewer than 270 homes across several communities in the ancient city.
When our correspondent visited the affected areas on Saturday, the devastation was heart-wrenching, with collapsed mud walls, submerged farmlands, and children huddled under makeshift shelters, shivering in the cold morning breeze.
“This is the worst flood I have seen in my lifetime. The water came so fast. Before we knew it, it was inside our houses, carrying away food, clothes, even my small provision shop. Now, we have nothing left,” said 70-year-old Alhaji Balafrom Magume community, whose home was swept away.
A joint assessment team made up of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, and Zaria Local Government officials confirmed the destruction after visiting the communities on Friday afternoon.
Led by Zaria Local Government Chairman, Alhaji Jamil Jaga, the team toured Kofar Kuyanbana, Gangaren Mobil, Bayan Cinema in Tudun Wada Ward, Magume, Bako Zuntu, and Kamacha in Tukur Tukur Ward—all badly affected by the floods.
Speaking after the tour, Jaga described the situation as “unprecedented and tragic,” calling for immediate action from state and federal authorities.
“We have over 270 houses either partially or completely destroyed and more than 470 children displaced. It is only by God’s mercy that no life was lost. The victims have lost everything—food, clothing, electronics, even important documents. We are appealing to government agencies, NGOs, and philanthropists to come to their aid quickly,” the council chairman told our correspondent.
Residents said the heavy rainfall that began in the early hours of Friday was unlike anything they had experienced in recent years.
A mother of four from Bayan Cinema, Hauwa Mohammed, recounted, “We were asleep when neighbours started shouting. Water was rushing in from the back of the house. It rose so quickly that my husband had to carry the children on his shoulders. We could not save any of our belongings.”
Another victim, Malam Ibrahim Sani of Kofar Kuyanbana, said he lost all his household property in the disaster.
“The flood carried everything—mattresses, food, even my children’s schoolbooks,” he lamented. “Right now, we are staying in a classroom provided by the local council, but we have no food, no bedding. We are appealing for help.”
In response, the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Zaria Division, began distributing relief materials, including blankets, mosquito nets, and food items, to affected families.
Chairman of the division, Malam Mohammed Suleiman, said the organisation was doing its best but stressed that the scale of the disaster required wider support.
“We have started providing some relief, but it is far from enough,” Suleiman said.
“Many children and women are sleeping in mosques, schools, or with relatives because their homes are gone. We need the government, private organisations, and good-spirited individuals to urgently intervene with food, clothing, and building materials,” he added.
Meanwhile, a devastating flood has also displaced many households in Kigo Road Extension, Kaduna North Local Government Area, leaving hundreds homeless and counting losses.
The flood, triggered by torrential rainfall in the early hours of Thursday, swept through homes in the densely populated area, destroying property worth millions of naira and forcing residents to flee in the middle of the night.
When our correspondent visited on Friday, families were seen stranded by the roadside, drying soaked clothes while children huddled under makeshift shelters, waiting for assistance that was yet to come.
One victim, Khadijatu Jatau, a mother of nine, recounted how she barely escaped with her children as floodwaters surged into her home around midnight.
Our correspondent gathered that local government officials had begun preliminary assessments to determine the number of displaced households and the extent of the damage.
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