Residents of Maiduguri town, Borno state displaced by water from the Alau Dam are beginning to return to their homes as flood water recedes gradually.
Many of the flood victims who slept outside said though the water had subsided, they wanted to assess their losses.
“We are just rushing to see what is left of our homes and to salvage any remnants of our property we can still use,” Ali Bana of Gwange ward said.
Musa Abdullahi of Gomari ward said he was able to get to his house.
”My house is still flooded.
“From the looks of things, we have more days to spend outside before we can move back in,” Abdullahi said.
Meanwhile, a situation report on the flood by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said more than 239,000 people were affected by the flood.
“The floods have forced some of the affected people to move spontaneously to the Muna IDP camp, which was already hosting over 50,000 IDPs.
“Government authorities have evacuated residents in high-risk riverine areas to several locations,” the report noted.
The flood incident has affected communication, power and water supply in most parts of town.
Mr Barkindo Mohammed, the Director General of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), earlier described the situation in flooded Maiduguri town as “terrible.”
Water from Alau Dam, which collapsed early Tuesday morning, has continued to submerge various wards in the town while thousands of displaced residents are scouting for safer places.
Mohammed said on Wednesday in Maiduguri that the agency had since commenced rescue operations and distribution of sandbags.
“Just now, we went for a rescue and proceeded to distribute sandbags in Gozari.
“As I am talking to you now I am trapped; we came to rescue some people and we are now trapped with my staff,’’ he said.
NAN
