FG Begins Evacuation As Flood Displaces Over 200,000 Persons In Maiduguri, Dozens Children Missing
THE Federal Government has begun the evacuation of residents of the affected communities in the flooding that has ravaged Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
A statement by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday, said it is also working on the provision of food, shelter and medical assistance for the victims.
NEMA also confirmed that over 200,000 people were displaced.
An unspecified number of people, including children are still missing.
Many properties including, houses, farmlands and business places have also been destroyed.
The residents, most of who are from Jere Local Government Area, have been forced to vacate their homes.
The flooding followed the collapse of the Alau Dam, which overflowed its banks from about 10 kilometres away into the state capital.
Residential and business areas have been submerged, including the popular Monday Market and thousands of homes and properties, such as the Palace of the Shehu of Borno, Shehuri, Gwange, Adamkolo, Gamboru, Fori, Bulabulin, Post Office areas, Moromoro, and Customs Bridge, among others, have also been affected.
Many of the residents, who spoke to Daily Trust, said they could not locate their loved ones.
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Some of those who spoke to our correspondent said the last time such a devastation enveloped Maiduguri and environs was about 30 years ago.
A resident, Fatima Ali, said: “I managed to escape, but my parents and six siblings remain trapped. I want to appeal to the government to do everything humanly possible to rescue them.”
A shop owner, Ibrahim Musa, said: “We just fled the zoo area for fear of being attacked by the escaping wildlife. All the shops around the popular Monday Market and post office have been submerged by the flood.”
A sugar and flour trader, Muhammad Bulama said: “Our goods worth billions of naira have been submerged. Just pray for us.”
Ibrahim Jirgi, who covered the 1994 flood incident in Maiduguri for the BBC and the Daily Times, said climate change could be responsible for the latest incident.
“During the 1994 incident, the whole of Maiduguri was taken over by water. People climbed trees to survive and many residents thought that the world had come to an end,” he said.
The Gwange Cemetery in Maiduguri was also washed away, leaving corpses floating in the streets.
A resident said: “The cemetery is already flat and the water pressure exhumed corpses from several graves. Women and children are traumatised by the horrific sights.”
Many patients at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) were also stranded as the facility was submerged.
