Abuja, Aug 20 (IANS) Five persons were confirmed killed after two residential buildings collapsed in two different locations in Nigeria’s Jigawa on Monday, said a local official.
The two incidents in Kirikasamma area of the state occurred following days of torrential rainfalls, said Salisu Garba-Kubayo, head of the local government, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Garba-Kubayo said three persons from one family died after their house suddenly collapsed in the village of Kuraduge, while two others, a man and his wife, died after their house collapsed in Madachi village in the same area.
The local official told reporters that following the persistent rainfall, over 30 villages in Kirikasamma had been taken over by flood.
At least 330 houses were destroyed by the floods, he added.
On August 7, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, which is responsible for issuing flood alert, issued an alert over possible flooding due to the high intensity of rainfall across the country.
The hydrological body said the flooding incidents are due to high rainfall intensity of long duration, rainstorms, blockage of drainage systems and poor urban planning resulting from the erection of structures within the floodplains and waterways.
This year, Nigeria’s 36 states and the federal capital territory, Abuja, would witness different levels of flooding, the hydrological body predicted.
–IANS
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