At least 40 dead, 1,000 homeless in Nigerian dam tragedy

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2006

KANO (AFP) — At least 40 people were killed and 1,000 displaced when a dam collapsed near Gusau, capital of northern Nigerian Zamfara State due to torrential rains. Government spokesman Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji said disaster struck Sunday on the outskirts of Gusau in the early hours of Saturday, sweeping away hundreds of houses and drowning at least 40 people.

"There was an unprecedented torrential downpour in Gusau which started Friday night through Saturday as a result of which the dam burst and swept away no less than 500 houses, killing at least 40 people," he said. "It was the heaviest downpour recorded here which was accompanied by strong wind. The flood has caused colossal damage. It is a kind of tsunami to us," he said. Rescuers were continuing to recover more bodies....