DISASTER: Shehu’s palace, state secretariat, others affected in Borno flooding
A larger part of Maiduguri metropolis, including the Shehu of Borno’s palace, the State Secretariat, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) office, State Specialist Hospital, among others, have been submerged by water following the collapse of the Alau Dam in Konduga local government area of Borno State in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The Milionaires Quarters around Gamboru Ward and its environs were also flooded even as the popular Lagos Bridge and the Moduganari bypass bridge have also been submerged and inaccessible.i
Also, Zoo Road has been flooded with water gushing to the College of Health Technology in Maiduguri while the water is already going towards the Commissioner of Police Junction via Damboa Road as at press time on Tuesday morning.
The Shehu Sanda Kyarimi Park, the popular Maiduguri Zoo has also been submerged forcing staff to relocate to a safe place, while many animals in the Zoo including snakes and crocodiles have strayed through the water channels, thereby raising apprehension amongst residents who are scampering to remove their properties floating on the raging flood.
The situation is so dire and it is said to be worse than the previous flooding incident of 1994, exactly 30 years ago, thereby making history to repeat itself in the month of September.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Network of Civil Society Organisations in Borno State, Comrade Bulama Abiso, has called for humanitarian action towards the victims of the flood.
In the meantime, the Borno State government has reopened the closed Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri for relocation of citizens displaced by the flood.
