The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) rescued 3,683 people trapped in their homes following the severe flooding in Maiduguri.
The Director-General of SEMA, Mr Barkindo Mohammed, made this known on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.
“As of 5 pm on Thursday, SEMA evacuated 3,683 persons from their homes in a rescue operation. The search and rescue operation is still ongoing.
“The mode of rescue involves motorists, boats, canoes, divers, military, and fire service trucks, among others.
“As the water continues to recede, we are concentrating on those who make distressed calls and will start search and rescue today and tomorrow,” Mohammed said.
According to him, about two million people were affected, and so far SEMA has opened 14 official camps and many informal camps where displaced persons can go.
He said that the Federal Government has supported the state with N3 billion and food consignments.
“President Bola Tinubu has supported Borno and other states with N3 billion each.
“The Gov. Babagana Zulum State has forwarded the money to SEMA, and he has added more on what the federal government gave.
“We are not only responding to the flood victims in Maiduguri but also in Local Government Areas across the state,” Mohammed said.
It was gathered that the collapse of the Alau dam on the Ngadda river in Borno on Tuesday caused some of the state’s worst flooding sand and forced residents to flee their homes.
The state government said on Wednesday that the dam was at capacity due to unusually high rains. Officials expected the death toll to rise.
