The Impact of the Episodic Rainstorm Event of 18th April and 5th May, 2018 in Taraba State, Nigeria

The study assessed the two days episodic rainstorm event that destroyed buildings and led to loss of life in April and May 2018 in Taraba State, northeast Nigeria. Data were from primary and secondary sources. A total of 60 copies of research questionnaires and interviews were used, complimented by data from the meteorological observatory of the Department of Geography, Taraba State University and expert eye witness accounts. The results of the study show that the 2-day rainstorm extreme event with high wind speed of over 600 knots (327 m/s) caused devastating damages to building infrastructures in the state and the roofs of buildings and damage to Globacom Telecommunication mast was profound and five people lost their lives with several others sustaining diverse injuries in 17 communities in Jalingo and Wukari. It led to about 62% of the affected to take refuge outside their homes for over three days while other spent more than 10 days. The schools were more affected with an estimated cost of ₦30,000,000 to fix the damaged infrastructures, followed by government buildings which needs about 24,000, 000 and residential building with estimated cost of ₦ 6,275,000. The cost for fixing the infrastructures damaged in Wukari in comparison to Jalingo was ₦ 9,000,000 for residential buildings, ₦ 6,000,000 for government buildings and ₦ 9,275,000 for schools respectively. Prices of roofing sheets increased with about $6 during the period. It was suggested that wind breakers should be encouraged and the cutting down of trees should be discouraged while creating awareness and encouraging afforestation.