TheCable

Aminu Waziri, executive director, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), on Tuesday said the number of lives lost in the Katsina flood has risen to 52.

On Monday, Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, said over 44 people had lost their lives while 20 others were still missing following the flood in Jibia local government area of the state.

Masari said over 500 houses were destroyed, scores of animals killed and thousands displaced as a result of the flood.

While addressing journalists with updates, the SEMA director said some corpses washed away to neighbouring villages of Mada Runfa and Kuntumi in Niger Republic.

He said the corpses had been recovered and have been brought home for burial.

Waziri said more than 5,000 people displaced by the flooding were seeking shelter in primary schools in Jibia, while 27 injured persons had been taken to the hospital.

“We have recovered 52 dead bodies from the five villages and we are still searching for 20 others,” Waziri said.

“Twenty-four of the victims were washed away to Mada Rumfa and Kantumi villages in neighbouring Niger Republic.

“Some of the victims were pulled from the rubbles of their collapsed homes.

“We have resettled some people at make shift camps in schools and government is supplying food items and medicals to the affected persons who survived the ungodly incident.”

Meanwhile, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, during a commiseration visit to Katsina on Tuesday, said the federal government will compensate the victims of the incident.

“The president has asked me to assure you that everything will be done to ensure that everybody is taken care of, and that we will make sure this sort of thing does not repeat itself again,” Osinbajo said.

“As Nigerians, we all deserve to live our lives happily, we deserve to be treated well, and the president has assured everybody that working with the state government, we will do all that is necessary.

“Where compensation is necessary, we will compensate, where rebuilding is necessary, we will do so.”