Floodwaters have ravaged northern Nigeria, causing widespread devastation and chaos. As the waters continue to rise, hundreds of people have been forced to flee their homes, seeking safety on higher ground. But it’s not just the human lives that are at risk.
The Sanda Kyarimi Park Zoo has been inundated, putting the lives of animals in peril. The deluge had led some of the animals including ostriches, crocodiles and snakes to escape and venture into the communities.
Animals escape from the Zoo as Maiduguri faces the worst flood since 1994. pic.twitter.com/FMQwmys0wH
— Nigeria Today (@NigeriasToday) September 10, 2024
“Some deadly animals have been washed away into our communities, like crocodiles and snakes,” the Sanda Kyarimi Park zoo added in a statement on the floods in the northern Borno state.
The authorities urged the residents to take necessary precautions.
VIDEO: Residents stranded as flood submerges Maiduguri
— The Nation Nigeria (@TheNationNews) September 10, 2024
Major parts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, have been submerged by floods after the Alau Dam collapsed early Tuesday morning.
The devastation is being likened to the 1994 floods, with residents stating that the… pic.twitter.com/D08RRgAVzi
Over 80 per cent of the animals in the zoo were killed in the recent floods.
Floods began when a dam overflowed after heavy rains, uprooting thousands of people.
The disaster has also affected other facilities in the capital, Maiduguri, including a post office and a teaching hospital, said the office of the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu.
The government had urged the people to evacuate the worst-hit areas.
“President Tinubu extends his heartfelt condolences to the government and people of the state, especially to the families that have lost their means of livelihood due to the disaster triggered by the overflow of the Alau Dam,” read a statement.
Floods in the north-east of Nigeria killed at least 49 people last month. In 2022 floods in the region killed over 600.
