Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said that 30 persons lost their lives in the flood that ravaged Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Tuesday,
The agency said that more than 414,000 persons were displaced when the Alau Dam overflowed following heavy rains leading to the town’s worst flooding in 30 years. The NEMA spokesman Manzo Ezekiel told journalists on Wednesday that the death toll had hit 30 and displaced persons close to half a million.
“It’s 30 people that have been recorded dead so far, around 414,000 people were displaced and are in nine Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps across the state,” Manzo said.
He added that more than 23,000 households had been hit by the rapid rise of waters, following the weekend rupture of the Alau dam on the Ngadda River, 20km south of Maiduguri.
Meanwhile, NEMA has said that the water which covered over 70 per cent of Maiduguri started receding on Wednesday and that some of the affected areas of the city included the Palace of the Shehu of Borno, Umar Ibn Garbai El-Kanemi; the state secretariat, post office, cemetery and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
The Agency added that the flood washed away 80 per cent of animals at the Sanda Kyarimi Park zoo, and damaged houses, schools, as well as commercial and worship centres.
According to local media reports, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has expressed deep concerns over the flooding and tasked relevant government agencies to expedite rescue efforts, while Vice President Kashim Shettima arrived in the Borno state capital on Tuesday to conduct an on-the-ground assessment of the devastating floods.
Tinubu also called for the immediate evacuation of residents in communities overtaken by floods.
The Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, told journalists that a preliminary assessment conducted by the government showed that more than a third of Maiduguri was flooded, which affected an estimated 1 million people following the heavy flooding.
“The floods covered one-third of the city, affecting over one million people. It is very devastating,” Zulum said while distributing cash and food to thousands of displaced persons at a camp.
The governor added that the Federal Government of Nigeria allocated N3 billion for the rehabilitation of the victims and that the funds would be used to provide food and other essential supplies, as well as support long-term strategies, including health monitoring to prevent disease outbreaks.
GIK/APA