The National Emergency Management Agency has begun evacuation of residents of Borno communities affected by the floods that pounded the state and displaced thousands.

In a post on her official X handle on Tuesday, the Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, Zubaida Umar, noted that provision of food, shelter, and medical assistance for the displaced residents was being worked on.

The flood, caused by the overflow of the Alau Dam, Maiduguri’s main water source, also displaced animals such as ostriches, crocodiles, snakes and others now roaming the streets alongside humans fearing for their safety. 

While some residents were captured in viral videos swimming in the flood whose level was last experienced in 1994, others resorted to hanging on streetlights and on hill tops to escape being swept away by the flood.

Announcing the agency’s intervention, Mrs Umar wrote, “Responding to the unfortunate flooding situation in the Maiduguri metropolis of Borno State, which started last weekend and increased in the early hours of Monday, September 9, 2024, resulting from excess waters from the Alau Dam, we have begun the evacuation of residents of the affected communities and working on provision of food, shelter, and medical assistance.

“One of the spillways of Alau Dam collapsed, leading to a significant increase in water flow downstream and exacerbating the flooding in surrounding areas. The areas impacted by the incident include Shehuri, parts of the Government Residential Area, Gambomi, Budum, Bulabulin, Adamkolo, Millionaires Quarters, Monday Market and Gwange.’’

According to Mrs Umar, the state government has opened up Bakassi Camp to accommodate those displaced by the flood and her agency working alongside the State Emergency Management Agency, to provide humanitarian assistance to the distressed in the camp.