A devastating flood has swept across Maiduguri, Borno State capital, leaving no fewer than 414,000 persons displaced with 37 killed according to that National Emergency Management Agency ,NEMA. The death toll emergency workers announced may increase as search and rescue is believed to be ongoing.
Alau Dam overflowed following heavy rains leading to the town’s worst flooding in 30 years, according to the United Nations Human Rights Refugee Council and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council residents..
“It’s 30 people that have been recorded dead so far, around 414,000 people were displaced and are in nine IDP camps across the state”, according to NEMA Spokesman.
According to NEMA, more than 23,000 households have been hit by the rapid rise of waters following the rupture of the Alau Dam on the Ngadda River, 20km south of Maiduguri.
According to reports, 70% of Maiduguri was submerged by the fast-moving waters, according to NEMA, which ravaged major city locations, including 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 flood also washed away 80% of animals at the Sanda Kyarimi Park zoo, and damaged houses, schools, as well as commercial and worship centres.
We commend President Bola Tinubu for his prompt intervention as he expressed deep concerns over the flooding and tasked relevant government agencies to expedite rescue efforts. It is also noteworthy that Vice-President Kashim Shettima, also a former governor of the state arrived to conduct an on-the-ground assessment of the devastating floods.
Tinubu also called for the immediate evacuation of residents in communities overtaken by flood.
Governor Babagana Zulum, has been at his best trying to mitigate the effects of this disaster. He announced that a preliminary assessment conducted by the government showed that more than a third of Maiduguri was flooded, which affected an estimated one million people following the heavy flooding.
We indeed applaud the Federal Government for allocating N3bn for rehabilitation of the victims. It is however of the essence that this fund be judiciously expended especially towards ameliorating the plight of victims.
This support will go a long way in providing food and other essential supplies, as well as support long-term strategies, including health monitoring to prevent disease outbreaks.
With the magnitude of the incident and the sheer number of casualties, we urge good spirit Nigerians and charity organizations in the country and beyond to support the cause of rehabilitation of the city and to bring succor to those affected.
While the State Governor, Babagana Zulum has began on a positive note of distributing 10,000 per household to victims, this must be done with extreme circumspection to avoid a disbursement that would be abused by officials and even the public.
We join well-meaning Nigerians and several statesmen to express our concern for the people of Borno State over the incident. We indeed sympathize with them at this moment of their grief.
Unfortunately, the flooding affected the Correctional Centre in the state capital as it weakened part of the structure, thus causing the collapse which gave room for many inmates to escape.
It is uncertain the number of inmates that fled the correctional facility but it is said that officials are on their trail. They must not relent in this move to track the escapees as allowing a large number of convicts out in one fell swoop would spell doom for the society.
We have kept a tab on issues relating to flooding and related environmental concerns for a while now and as expressed by experts, the flooding this year will extend to about 26 states. It keeps us pondering on where the next one would take place.
As it is, the various state emergency services and indeed NEMA should be on red alert. They should not be caught napping as ample information on these changing environmental patterns has long been predicted.
