Thirty residents lost their lives in Tuesday’s flood which ravaged Maiduguri and environs in Borno State.
Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ezekiel Manzo, told the AFP.
NEMA has deployed additional search and rescue personnel, along with enhanced facilities, to bolster the ongoing efforts to assist Maiduguri residents affected by the flood.
NEMA’s Director General, Mrs Zubaida Umar, announced that the agency has also provided clean drinking water through its water tankers to displaced residents in temporary shelters.
The initiative, she said, aimed to reduce the risk of waterborne diseases that may arise from flood-contaminated household water.
Hundreds of homes were flooded causing the displacement of over one million people, as revealed by Governor Babagana Zulum.
The Alau Dam collapsed, overflowed its banks, sending floodwaters from about 10 kilometres away into Maiduguri.
Residents, however, said the casualty figure could be higher as several people, including children, are still unaccounted for.
A resident of one of the affected areas in Gwange, Tasiu Abdullahi said “Nobody has the actual number of people who died from this catastrophe.
A taxi driver, Babagana Modu, said “It could be as high as 60 or more,”,
The areas mostly affected are the Monday Market, the Shehu of Borno’s Palace, Shehuri, Gwange, Adamkolo, Gamboru, Fori, Bulabulin, Post Office areas, Moromoro, and Customs Bridge.
The Gwange cemetery was swept away, with corpses seen floating through the streets.
Patients at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) were left stranded as parts of the facility were flooded.
