Severe flooding in northeastern Nigeria, the conflict zone that is plagued by constant attacks from the jihadis of Boko Haram, has killed at least 30 people and damaged hundreds of homes, affecting the lives of more than one million residents.
The flooding, unleashed after the Alau Dam collapsed, also damaged farms, businesses, schools, hospitals, and even the Gwange cemetery. Eyewitnesses reported seeing corpses from the cemetery floating through the streets.
Even more alarming were reports that floodwaters swept dangerous reptiles from the Borno State Museum Park into the streets, including crocodiles and venomous snakes. Managers said the flood killed up to 80 percent of the zoo’s animals, and the rest were evacuated.
The Alau Dam gave way on Tuesday, releasing even more damaging floodwaters than its previous major collapse about 30 years ago. Officials in the Borno State capital of Maiduguri said about 15 percent of the city is now underwater.
Borno State Gov. Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum said on Wednesday that his administration was struggling to distribute food and emergency funding to the one million people whom the floods affected. He said the full extent of the damage and a full accounting of fatalities have yet to be determined.
Zulum added that Maiduguri is bracing for a second calamity from diseases that the floodwaters spread. He said an emergency health committee has been established.
“You can see how water completely flooded the area, sewages were completely flooded, that means waterborne diseases would be transmitted but inshallah [as Allah wills], we should get over it,” he said.
Maiduguri residents reported food shortages due to submerged markets, restaurants, and warehouses. Residents also told reporters they feared the death toll could be more than twice as high as the 30 deaths that officials have reported, as many people have gone missing, including many children.
Borno State emergency managers said they have rescued more than 700 people from rooftops and trees. Hundreds more are reportedly trapped in flooded hospitals.
The region was already suffering a major humanitarian crisis thanks to Boko Haram, the ISIS-allied terrorist group that has murdered hundreds of people and displaced millions more. Boko Haram attacked another town on Wednesday morning, firing on soldiers while residents huddled indoors. The attack was repelled by military forces, assisted by local vigilantes and hunters. Twenty-one terrorists were reportedly killed in the battle, along with two of the vigilantes seeking to defend the town of Bassa.
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