Northeast Nigeria Faces Worst Flood in Decades After Dam Collapse, Displacing One Million People 

By Sarah Homes

Maiduguri, Nigeria, is facing a humanitarian crisis amid extreme flooding. Nearly half of the city is underwater after the Alau Dam, located just a few miles outside of Maiduguri burst on Monday, overwhelmed by the pressure from heavy rainfall. The city suffered severe damages to infrastructure, with flood waters destroying roads, schools, hospitals and businesses. Leading hospitals in the region, such as the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, destroying expensive equipment and machinery. Additionally, dangerous animals, such as crocodiles and snakes, were able to escape from the Sanda Kyarimi Park Zoo, increasing residents’ fears of leaving their homes. Many residents have been forced to flee their homes and have sought out shelter in camps and schools, while others wait for the arrival of help from rooftops. The flooding has exacerbated an on-going crisis of food shortage in this region. With local food stores destroyed, and crops destroyed, access to food is both an immediate issue, and a future consequence of waterlogged farmlands.

Furthermore, in the wake of the flooding infectious diseases will rapidly spread through the water as a result of damaged septic tanks and flooded graveyards. Many residents are still missing in the floods, and humanitarian groups are working to help find people and reunite families and loved ones. This flooding further impacts an already particularly vulnerable region in Nigeria, where the heart of the armed Boko Haram rebellion has already displaced millions of people.