About 40 persons were feared killed while more than 500 houses were washed away on Saturday in Gusau, the capital of Nigeria’s northwestern state of Zamfara, following the collapse of the Gusau dam.
According to the official News Agency of Nigeria report, as a result of the collapse of the dam, the main source of water supply to the capital city, more than 500 towns and villages were cut off from the Gusau.
Most of the affected houses were constructed within the vicinity of the river bank.
There was no official statement from either the state government or its agencies as to what caused the sudden collapse of the dam.
Unconfirmed reports said the collapse of the dam might be connected with the inability of the state’s water board officials to open outlets when water in the barrage reached a dangerous level on Friday evening following heavy downpour.
Zamfara State Governor Alhaji Ahmed Sani visited the area to assess the extent of destruction caused by the disaster.
However, Director of Press to the governor Alhaji Ibrahim Magaji told reporters that details of the disaster would not be available until later Sunday.