Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

No fewer than 10 people have been reported dead on Tuesday after days of floods that also washed away houses, farmlands and cattle across Jigawa State.

The flooding, which is fast becoming a perennial occurrence, ‎has so far displaced about a thousand households across the northwestern state.

Mr Sani Yusuf, the Executive Secretary of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), who confirmed the report to journalists, said Kirikasamma, Kafin Hausa, Guri, and Birninkudu local government areas were largely affected by the floods.

According to him, a pregnant woman identified as Halima Manu and two of her children, four year old Aisha Manu and two year old Dauda Manu, are among the flood casualties after their mud house collapsed on them.

Among the dead were a couple in Madici village of Kirikasamma, and another in Kafin Hausa, where a husband managed to survive and is responding to treatment

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However, reports from some other parts of the state indicate that some other deaths were recorded‎ at Miga and Guri.

Meanwhile, in Waza village in Birninkudu, a bridge linking villages of Dumis and Bigidan has collapsed.

The village head of Waza, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Yusuf, said no fewer than 50 houses have collapsed while several hectares of farmland with their produce have been destroyed by the flood.

State Deputy Governor Alhaji Umar Namadi, who visited the area on Friday, said the government is doing its best to bring emergency assistance to the victims.

According to Namadi, part of the strategy the state will adopt to prevent the yearly occurrence of the flood disasters is to relocate entire communities to areas that are not prone to flooding.

Namadi, saddened by the colossal loss of property and farm produce, said the state government cannot continue to spend huge sums of money when the situation can be averted.