Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Wednesday in southeast Nigeria’s Cross River state that some 15,000 people have been displaced because of a mysterious wind on April 17.
The NEMA official said the windstorm damaged about 1,200 houses at Ogoja and Yala Local Government Councils of the state .
Malam Yushau Shuaib, head of Public Relations for NEMA, said in an email statement sent to Xinhua that the agency had dispatched special teams to assess the massive damage and destruction.
According to him, the natural disaster affected places of worship, warehouses, schools, abattoirs, hospitals, stadium, business centers, market square, farm produce and federal institutions like the prison yard.
The statement quoted Director General of NEMA, Mohammed Audu-Bida, as describing it as the first worst natural disaster in Nigeria in 2009.
Audu-Bida commended the concerted efforts of the community leaders and volunteer groups that rose to the occasion in saving many lives from the massive destruction as only three people were confirmed dead.
The statement also quoted, Vincent Aquah, director general of Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), as saying that the devastation was beyond human comprehension as more than 40 percent of households were damaged in one of the communities.
He called on the Nigerian federal government to come to the aid of the communities with relief materials as the damage were beyond the capacity of the state to effectively manage.
“We urged the government and international community to urgently intervene to avoid further disaster due to the exposure of most of the displaced people to inclement harsh whether elements,” the statement added.