Nigeria: Floods – Maiduguri (MMC) and Jere Floods Flash Update 1 (10 September 2024)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Overnight flash floods in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere local government areas (LGAs) have affected over 239,000 people.

  • An unconfirmed number of people have reportedly died or been injured.

  • Access to hospitals, schools and markets has been hampered.

  • Damage to infrastructure, including bridges, has been recorded.

  • Evacuation of people in high-risk areas to safer ground is ongoing.

  • Joint Government and UN/partners needs assessments are ongoing.

  • Priority needs are shelter, clean water and food (wet feeding).

  • Interventions to prevent disease outbreaks in camps and other evacuation sites are also required.

  • The Borno State Government (BSG) has appealed for humanitarian support.

  • The flooding is happening at the height of a food and nutrition crisis.

  • Link to OCHA’s interactive floods dashboard

SITUATION OVERVIEW

More than 239,000 people are affected following severe flash flooding in the MMC and Jere LGAs in Maiduguri after the Alau Dam in neighbouring Konduga LGA breached its banks overnight, following structural damage and continued heavy rains in Bama, Damboa and Gwoza LGAs. The Alau Dam last overflowed in 2012. These are initial estimates and include affected people in some of the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Borno State. Numbers are expected to change as more information becomes available.

The floods have forced some of the affected people to move spontaneously to the Muna IDP camp, which was already hosting over 50,000 IDPs. Government authorities have evacuated residents in high-risk riverine areas to several locations. Approximately 50,000 people have been evacuated to the former Bakasi IDP camp, which has been temporarily reopened and is already at full capacity. Other temporary shelters include the former Dalori IDP camp and the Asheik Jarma school in MMC. The El Miskin camp, housing approximately 7,000 IDPs, more than half of them children, has also reportedly flooded.

Access is severely restricted in many areas affecting critical supply chains, and disrupting access to schools, health care facilities and markets. Schools in Maiduguri have been temporarily closed for two weeks due to the flooding. The State Specialist Hospital and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital are also reportedly flooded. Mashamari and General Hospital Stabilization Centres (SC), which are treating malnourished children were forced to suspend operations. Patients from the General Hospital SC were evacuated to other facilities. However, patients and staff from Mashamari Hospital SC are stranded. The telecommunications and electricity networks are also affected in some areas.

Flooding is reportedly covering over 40 per cent of Maiduguri town, which has an estimated population of over 870,000, including the Muna and Jere IDP camps, with a combined population of approximately 230,000. Flooding in the Maiduguri Zoo has reportedly led to some wild animals, including crocodiles and snakes, escaping their enclosures.

In Maiduguri, the most affected areas are Gwange, Bama Road, Maiduguri Zoo, Post office, State Secretariat, Lagos Street, Shehu’s palace, the Maiduguri Main Market, Customs / Gamboru areas, Budum, Specialist Hospital and Post Office general area. State Lowcost area is currently on high alert. Shikari general area is also flooded, with people relocating along Muna Road. Two United Nations guesthouses are also inaccessible due to flooding.

The immediate needs are food, shelter and clean water, with some water sources contaminated. Protection remains a major concern, especially among unaccompanied and separated children, older persons and people living with disabilities. Intermediate needs include non-food items and interventions to prevent the outbreak of diseases such as cholera in congested sites. The floods have also affected nutrition stabilization centres treating severely malnourished children in MMC and Jere LGAs.

Beyond MMC and Jere LGAs in Borno State, the Dalwa community in Damboa LGA is also affected, with Bama and Gwoza LGAs similarly reporting flooding. Before the recent flash floods, almost 123,000 people in Borno State were affected by floods and windstorms since August. The floods have destroyed critical infrastructure and heightened the risk of disease outbreaks especially in overcrowded IDP camps.

Some of the flood-affected areas in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states are facing a food and nutrition crisis affecting 4.8 million people and putting the lives of 230,000 children at risk through severe acute malnutrition.

Partners have activated their business continuity plans to continue providing critical services. In Adamawa and Yobe states, over 12,500 and 46,600 people, respectively, are affected by flooding. In Adamawa, there are fears of more severe flood impact with early reports from Cameroon indicating that there may be a release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam which has also sustained damage due to heavy rains. So far, no official notification has been received from the Cameroonian authorities.

These flash floods are occurring against a backdrop of nationwide floods in Nigeria, which have so far claimed more than 200 lives and affected more than 800,000 people across 29 states, according to data from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Borno State has the highest number of affected and displaced people, as of 9 September. Other states most affected by the floods across the country include Bauchi, Bayelsa, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

Across Nigeria, floods have damaged tens of thousands of hectares of farmland ahead of the harvest season, amid record spikes in food and fuel inflation. The damage to crops risks elevating food insecurity in the ongoing lean season, and in the coming months. This may lead to a further deterioration in the already alarming food insecurity in the country. More than 32 million people in Nigeria are facing severe food insecurity, according to the March 2024 Cadre Harmonisé food security and nutrition assessment.

In support of Government efforts, the UN and partners are working on an overview of affected people, their locations and their critical needs. Efforts are also ongoing to ascertain the levels of emergency stocks available among UN partners to identify gaps. Mapping of partner capacity to carry out assessments and to respond is also planned in collaboration with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and NEMA.