A minimum of 209 houses were devastated as a result of a severe windstorm that impacted communities within the Fika local government area of Yobe State.
The Executive Secretary of the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (YOSEMA), Dr. Mohammed Goje, revealed this information during a stakeholders’ engagement on the National Disaster Preparedness and Response Campaign (NPRC) organised by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Damaturu.
Goje recalled that in 2025, a windstorm incident took place in the Fika local government area, affecting approximately 209 households, including public structures.
“We are tracking and reviewing how we can support those affected communities,” Goje said.
Data collected from YOSEMA revealed that in 2024, a total of 28,977 households (approximately 68,954 individuals) experienced the effects of windstorms and flooding throughout Yobe State.
Additionally, 544 individuals suffered various degrees of injuries due to building collapses triggered by the floods.
The data further indicated that 47 fatalities were reported across 601 communities within the 17 local government areas of the state as a result of the disaster.
Regarding stakeholder engagement, the Director General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, represented by the North East Zonal Director, Yakubu Suleiman, emphasized the necessity of engaging with states in the region following the issuance of the 2025 seasonal climate prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) and the annual flood outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).
She stated that this engagement is part of proactive strategies aimed at mitigating the disaster’s impact in high-risk communities.
The campaign is titled ‘Strengthening resilience, enhancing preparedness and response: Taking disaster risk management to the grassroots to save lives, restore normalcy, and build communal resilience across Nigeria’.