FIC Report (Borno State) – A team comprising various organisations under the United Nations arrived in Maiduguri on an assessment visit over the Alau Dam flood disaster.
The team which also comprised international and national NGOs led by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Mohamed Fall, arrived in Maiduguri on Saturday.
The team which visited camps to interact with victims also paid solidarity a visit to Gov. Babagana Zulum and interacted with the press.
Speaking, Fall assured the government and people of Borno of UN support in addressing the challenges.
“We are all with you in sympathy and solidarity and we will translate it into action.
“I want to tell you that we will not spare any of our resources in this response.
“We will refocus resources designed for some other interventions to see how we can bring them towards scaling up this response,” Fall said.
He said that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) would do a comprehensive post-disaster assessment looking at setting up a recovery plan.
Responding, Gov. Zulum thanked the UN delegation for its series of interventions in the state, assuring of the government’s commitment to collaborate with them.
Zulum, who spoke on the magnitude of destruction caused by the flood, urged the UN agencies to first focus on the immediate needs of the victims such as food, health, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene.
More than 414,000 people were displaced by Tuesday’s devastating flood in Maiduguri.
The Head of Public Information, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Abuja, Ann Weru, stated this in a Media Advisory.
Weru said that the data was collected by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as of Sept. 11.
“NEMA’s records also show that 37 people died, and about 58 people sustained injuries,” she said.
Access to hospitals, schools and markets, she added, has been hampered.
“Damages to infrastructure, including bridges, were recorded.
“Evacuation of people in high-risk areas to safer ground is ongoing, amid concerns about the risk of disease outbreaks,” she said.
Abdul A. Bello
HOC, FIC Maiduguri.
