One person has died and over 45 people injured with no fewer than one hundred houses destroyed in the aftermath of a devastating windstorm that wreaked havoc in some Yobe communities.
The heavy windstorm followed by rainfall occurred at about 7:00 pm on Monday and lasted for an hour, leaving many property worth millions of Naira destroyed.
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The storm wreaked havoc in three communities of Damaturu, Tarmuwa and Potiskum local government areas.
Meanwhile, Modu Ali, who lost his 60-year-old father, Ali Mustapha, to the incident, said the storm blew off the entire roof of their house and the building collapsed on his father.
A community leader at Pompomari Sabon Kwalta in Damaturu, Mallam Bulama Isa, told our correspondent that over 20 households were rendered homeless in his domain.
Isa noted that the affected households were left with no option than to desert their houses and resort to squatting within the limited spaces in their neighborhood.
Worst affected by the development is Abdulrahman Gidi, a father of nine children, whose shelter was totally eroded by the storm.
When our correspondent caught up with him, his family was looking forlorn amidst scattered property.
Gidi said he was thankful to God that there was no loss of life or injury among his family but the only house they depended on was totally destroyed.
Although there were certain figures on the number of houses destroyed outside the state capital, many were reported to be affected in Tarmuwa and Potiskum.
The affected families, mostly poor people, pleaded with the government to come to their rescue.
Responding to the incident, Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, commiserated with people of the state over the unfortunate incident.
Buni, in a statement through his media aide Mamman Mohammed, directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to ensure treatment of all those injured and assessment of the level of damage for provision of assistance to the victims.
SEMA Executive Secretary, Dr Muhammed Goje, said the agency has already swung into action and working to aid the victims.
