Heavy flooding hits northeastern Nigeria

By Timothy Olanrewaju

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Heavy flooding hit the northeast city of Maiduguri in Nigeria on Tuesday, displacing thousands and causing devastation.

Residents said water released from the Alau Dam on the outskirts of the city surged into the metropolis.

Rabiu Musa, a public health worker in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. told Anadolu that hospitals, schools, worship centers, cemeteries, private houses and zoos were submerged.

"There was no rain for two days now. We woke up to see heavy water, flooding from the Alau dam and it destroyed our homes," he said.

The head of the Borno Zoo and Museum, Ali Abatcha, said the flood has killed most of the animals at the zoo.

"The flood disaster has disrupted and caused damage to properties and loss of lives of more than 80% of the animals," he said in a statement.

President Bola Tinubu described the flooding as the worst in recent decades, having devastated hospitals, homes and businesses.

Tinubu extended his heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Nigeria, especially those displaced and affected by the devastation.

"The Federal Government is ready to collaborate to address the immediate humanitarian needs of the affected people," he said in a message by a spokesperson.

The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the area has appealed for donations of medicine, food, blankets, clothes, shelter and bedding for thousands displaced by the flood.