Scores of children are still trapped in their homes in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, after floods ravaged a large part of the city, Save the Children in Nigeria has said.

Its deputy director, programme operations/humanitarian, Chachu Tadicha, who is currently in the flood-affected city, described the situation as terrible, saying the roads have remained impassable.

Mr Tadicha, who noted that children and families were still trapped in their houses, explained that efforts were being made to rescue them, even as the United Nations body was working hard to deliver food assistance to the victims of the flood.

The situation has forced schools to suspend resumption for two weeks as parents prepare their children for the new academic session.

According to him, “Two main hospitals are flooded and stabilisation centres have been forced to suspend operations, just as the immense damage to water and sanitation services is driving up the risk of cholera and other water- and vector-borne diseases. Schools have been suspended for two weeks – just as children were going back into learning after the holiday.

“We are working hard to deliver food assistance and other critical supplies to camps where people are sheltering but the needs here are absolutely huge and children and families here desperately need donors and the government to urgently ramp up support so that we can co-ordinate a proper response that meets the needs of children and families who have lost everything.”

Heavy rain early this week in the metropolis has led to the worst flood in 30 years, leaving many residents without shelter, clean water, health care, and education.

No less than 239,000 people have been affected by the flood, with many killed as authorities began a rescue operation after the town was submerged in water.

The situation has been described as a humanitarian crisis following the collapse of the Alau Dam after being at full capacity for weeks.