At least two children are feared dead after a building collapsed on occupants who were asleep during a heavy downpour in Gandun Sarki community, Malam Madori Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The tragedy occurred in the early hours of Friday after a downpour lasting more than an hour on Thursday night triggered widespread flooding and building collapses across parts of the Hadejia Senatorial District.
More than 20 houses were reportedly destroyed in Gandun Sarki, while several other homes were submerged or surrounded by rising floodwaters. Farmlands were also affected, forcing families to abandon their homes and seek refuge in safer locations.
Residents said the rain began late at night when many people were already asleep, leaving families with little opportunity to evacuate or move their belongings to safety.
The most devastating incident occurred when a building in Gandun Sarki collapsed while a family was sleeping inside.
Mr Sama’ila, the father of the two children, said his five-year-old and eight-year-old children were killed when the room collapsed.
“My two children, aged five and eight, died in the incident. Other female members of the family were rushed to Hadejia General Hospital,” he said.
The injured family members were subsequently taken to the hospital for treatment.
For other residents, the disaster wiped out homes, possessions and sources of livelihood.
Sani Abubakar, one of the affected residents, said his entire house was destroyed by the flood, leaving his family in desperate need of assistance.
He appealed to the Jigawa State Government to urgently intervene and support residents who lost their homes and property.
Residents also credited drainage infrastructure and culverts constructed by the state government with helping to reduce the impact of the flood in some parts of the community.
Abubakar said the structures helped channel some of the floodwater and prevented the devastation from becoming even worse.
“Those structures helped channel some of the water and reduced the impact in parts of the community,” he said.
Despite the role played by the drainage infrastructure, the scale of the destruction has intensified concerns over the preparedness and vulnerability of communities in the Hadejia Senatorial District as heavy rainfall continues.
The collapse of more than 20 houses, the reported deaths of two children and the displacement of families have placed renewed attention on the condition of homes, drainage systems and flood-control measures across vulnerable communities.
Residents are now facing the difficult task of finding temporary shelter while dealing with destroyed property, damaged farmlands and the potential loss of their livelihoods.
The situation has also raised questions over how quickly emergency assistance will reach the affected families, particularly those who have lost their homes and are now exposed to further rainfall and flooding.
As of Friday evening, the exact extent of the destruction and the final casualty figure had not been officially established.
The Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, had yet to release an official statement on the reported deaths, house collapses and flooding.
However, the Hadejia Zonal Public Relations Officer, Musa Muhammad, confirmed the incident to journalists on Friday.
As residents continued to assess the damage, affected families called for urgent government intervention, emergency relief and support to recover from a disaster that has already claimed lives and left homes and livelihoods in ruins.