Gambia authorities say the death toll from last night severe windstorm has risen to 10. 

A 5-year-old boy is among the dead after gale force winds battered the West Coast and North Bank Regions of The Gambia. 

Dozens of houses were destroyed and many people were left without water and power. 

The country’s head of National Disaster Management Agency, Sanna Dahaba told reporters at a news conference “this is the first time Gambia is experiencing this kind of windstorm and it has cost lives and livelihoods.

“As we speak now, there is 10 fatalities and any lost of life as a result of disaster is a lost for the nation. [About] 3,114 people have already been affected. This is very, very serious.”

He said North Bank is the epicentre of the disaster and that 9 deaths have been recorded in that region and one death in the West Coast region. 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba