No fewer than 18,406 persons have been displaced by flood in 14 local government areas of Borno, according to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

“Reports from international partners in different fields and locations indicated that a total of 4,989 houses were destroyed and 16,393 victims affected,” the director-general of the agency, Yabawa Kolo, said in an interview on Monday in Maiduguri.

She said the affected persons, including women and children, had been displaced by floods caused by heavy rainfall recorded this season.

Ms Kolo listed the affected areas as Shani, Kwaya Kusar, Biu, Damboa, Askira Uba, Chibok, Kaga, Dikwa, Maiduguri, Monguno, Jere, Mobbar, Gwoza, Monguno and Kala Balge, among others.

The SEMA boss said the damage assessment exercise conducted in Monguno and Kala Balve LGAs showed that the flood submerged farmlands, displaced 1,735 persons, and destroyed 681 shelters and 112 toilet facilities at the GGSS, NRC and Gana Ali Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.

“Most of the displaced persons are seeking shelter in primary schools in neighbouring communities. They are now in need of shelter kits, mats, blankets and food items,” she said.

Ms Kolo said the state’s Flood Response Committee, headed by the deputy governor, Usman Kadafur, has been working to assist the victims of the disaster. 

(NAN)