BY GODWIN OBI
Zaria, Kaduna State, has been thrown into turmoil after two days of torrential rainfall unleashed devastating floods that displaced over 470 children and reduced more than 270 homes to rubble.
A joint assessment team — comprising the Nigerian Red Cross Society, the National and Kaduna State Emergency Management Agencies, alongside local government officials — confirmed the grim statistics during an on-the-spot visit to the worst-hit communities.
Led by Zaria Local Government Chairman, Alhaji Jamil Ahmad Muhammad Jaga, the team toured Kofar Kuyanbana, Gangaren Mobil, Bayan Cinema in Tudun Wada Ward, as well as Magume, Bako Zuntu, and Kamacha in Tukur Tukur Ward, where families wailed over their losses.
The floods, triggered by early-morning downpours, swept away foodstuffs, clothing, electronics, and life savings, leaving residents stranded in the cold. Mothers clutched their hungry children while fathers rummaged through muddy debris, hoping to salvage what little remained.
Miraculously, no lives were lost — a development officials described as nothing short of divine mercy, given the magnitude of destruction.
In the wake of the disaster, the Zaria Division of the Red Cross has begun distributing relief items, but the organization warned that much more support is desperately needed. “The victims are on the brink of unbearable hardship without urgent intervention,” the humanitarian body cautioned, appealing to government agencies, NGOs, and well-meaning Nigerians for immediate aid.
Authorities have promised continued assessments and pledged to mobilize more relief materials to cushion the suffering of displaced families.
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