Severe floods on Wednesday (Sep. 18) continued to ravage northeastern Nigeria, impacting more than 400,000 people, according to the United Nations.
In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state about 15% of the city is under water.
The flooding has worsened the humanitarian crisis in the region, where armed violence has already displaced millions.
“With our small children, we don’t know where to stay now. Government should be sympathetic to allow us to stay longer in the camp, because if we go back to our house now, we will not have a place to sleep with our children. And if we go to somebody’s house, we will not feel comfortable.”
Earlier this month, flooding killed 30 people in the state after the collapse of a major dam. The consequences of floods have killed 269 in the nation, according to a toll published on Sep. 15 by the National Emergency Management Agency.
Floods have also devastated crops, and livestock.
“It’s an absolute tragedy for this local people who had their homes wiped out,” said David Stephenson, World Food Programme representative.
Stephenson added that the flooding has presented yet another challenge for internally displaced people in the region, many who have already been made vulnerable by the violence in the region.
Authorities have warned of possible flooding in 11 states following the release of water from a dam in neighboring Cameroon.
West Africa has experienced some of the heaviest flooding in decades this year, affecting over 2 million people.
