The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has alerted residents of Maiduguri metropolis to move to safer upland areas against an imminent flooding this week.
According to SEMA, the affected residents are living along the River Ngadda banks and plains; comprising over a dozen communities in Maiduguri.
Alerting the affected communities, at the weekend (Friday), in Maiduguri, the Director General of SEMA, Hajiya Yabawa Kolo, disclosed: “There would be an imminent release of excess water from Alau Dam by the Chad Basin Development Authority CBDA),” noting that the release of waters was to prevent the Dam from collapsing.
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The metropolis was flooded on September 22, 1994, destroying many lives and property, including Borno Radio Television (BRTV), markets and houses built along the banks of River and tributaries.
She said that SEMA had been communicated on CBDA’s plan this week to release the excess water from the dam into the River.
According to her, River Ngadda has filled to capacity in the last month from the recent down pour of rainfall.
She lamented the loss of 15 lives drown into the river and destruction of farmlands along the banks of Ngadda and tributaries.
The SEMA boss, therefore, urged the residents living along the river banks to immediately move to safer upland areas of the metropolis.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has also deployed personnel to strategic locations along the river to prevent children from swimming.