A strong windstorm swept through Bokkos Local Government Area in Plateau State at about 2 pm on Thursday, destroying many structures and rendering many homeless.

Although no life was lost, residents say the devastating strong wind destroyed over 50 structures, including houses, schools and the biggest mosque in Bokkos Town.

A survivor told FIJ that the windstorm, which came with sudden intensity and a lack of rainfall until it died down, caught the residents off guard.

He said the storm started on Mushere Road, Takai, before moving to Malim and Angwa Hausawa, leaving many residents displaced and in urgent need of assistance.

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The hardest-hit area, the source said, appears to be Angua Hausawa, where the largest mosque in Bokkos is located. Many homes in this neighbourhood were so severely damaged that some houses had no manageable rooms.

“I was in my room when someone called my attention to it,” the source told FIJ. “When I came out, I saw a red sky, and the storm was coming. It came with force. I entered my house and asked everyone to lock the rooms. When it passed our house, I came out and saw it moving. And while I was there, I saw some roofs flying in the air.”

He said that with the magnitude of the disaster, many have nowhere to go, while some residents are facing the prospect of sleeping under open skies until assistance arrives.

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“Many have been crying, while others have been thanking God for no loss of life. They don’t know where to start, especially with this hardship we’re facing. One bundle of zinc is about N80,000, but how would they afford it?” He asked.

“We discovered that among the many houses hit, a few rooms were okay. The windstorm brought down a house with 10 rooms. It was like thunder. It came without a rainfall.”

While the source could not ascertain if relief efforts are underway, he said that personnel from the Red Cross and the Bokkos local government were in the area shortly after the windstorm ceased.

FIJ attempted to contact the Plateau State Emergency Management Agency but found no phone number on its website.

FIJ also contacted Alfred Alabo, the Plateau State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), for comments on the matter, but he neither responded to his call nor the text sent to him at press time.