Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno Sttae has said a total of one million people were affected by the flood which ravaged the state on Tuesday.
Zulum made the revelation while giving cash and cooked food to displaced persons taking refuge in Bukassi camp, Maiduguri.
He said he has set up a Health Emergency Committee to prevent flood-related epidemics in Maiduguri and Jere city.
“You can see how water completely flooded the area, sewages were completely flooded, that means waterborne diseases would be transmitted but Insha Allah we should get over it.
“As of now, we are yet to ascertain the extent of damage, but about one fourth of the entire Maiduguri is flooded with water.
“The population affected is up to 1 million, what we are doing this morning is to provide immediate succor, which is food and non-food items,” he said.
Zulum said a search and rescue team begun operations across affected communities to determine the loss on lives and property.
“Data would be collated of affected persons, immediately,” he added.
He said the Federal Government has granted the state N3 billion flood intervention fund to address the challenges faced by the flood victims.
Zulum said the situation was aggravated by climate change which caused the heavy downpour being experienced this season, adding that the flood overwhelmed Alau dam, which overflowed into the city and the water volume released from another dam in Cameroon.
He said the dam would be reconstructed and retrofitted to contain its volume, while illegal structures on waterways and flood prone locations would be demolished.
