About 16 people lost their lives, while 3,834 others were displaced in this year’s flooding in Jigawa. The Executive Secretary of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Haruna Mairiga, revealed this while interacting with journalists in his office.

He stressed that the flooding surprised the state even though the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) had predicted the disaster.

The flood, he said, affected 12 local councils in Jigawa State, destroying about 2,744 hectares of farmlands. Over 750 hectares of rice were also destroyed in the Zandam Nagwaggo community in Gwaram Local Council.

He commended the state government for prompt intervention and for rendering immediate assistance to the affected victims across the state. Mairiga explained that most displaced people were taken to emergency camps, such as primary schools, while others relocated to their relatives’ houses.The affected councils are Buji, Kafin Hausa, Auyo, Hadejia, Birniwa, Gwaram, Malam Madori, Garki, Taura, Suletankarkar, Kaugama and Dutse.