No fewer than 26 persons have been killed while 2,000 houses and 95 farms have been destroyed by flooding across eight local government councils in Kano, says the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

Dr Sale Jili, Executive Secretary of the agency, disclosing this on Sunday in Kano, said properties destroyed are worth over N1.5 billion.

Mr Jili said that the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had earlier predicted flooding in 25 LGAs of the state due expected heavy rainfall.

“About 26 persons were killed, 2,026 houses destroyed, 95 rice farms washed away and 19 persons injured due to flooding in the state,” he said.

Mr Jili named the affected LGAs to include Bunkure, Minjibir, Tarauni, Doguwa, Rano, Ungogo, Tudun Wada and Tsanyawa.

“We have visited Bunkure, Minjibir, Tarauni and Doguwa to distribute relief materials to the victims as a measure to alleviate their sufferings.

“The items distributed include food items, bags of cement, roofing sheets, mats and blankets,” he said.

Mr Jili said the agency had deployed personnel to Tudun Wada LGA which was badly affected by the disaster to assess the damage to enable it to develop comprehensive data.

He said that the state government in collaboration with the Federal Government has set up an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp furnished with mattresses and beddings for flood victims that can accommodate over 700 persons.

Mr Jili urged residents of the state to report any disaster to their ward heads and warned them against dumping of refuse on waterways and clear their drainages to avert flooding.