The Salvation Army in Nigeria is supporting displaced people in Maiduguri, Borno State, with food and hygiene items following the catastrophic collapse of the Alau Dam.
Up to 40 per cent of the city of Maiduguri, in the northeast of the country, was left underwater, displacing almost 400,000 people. Thirty-eight deaths and 57 injuries were recorded by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Heavy rainfall preceded the dam collapse on 10 September. The resulting floods left buildings and infrastructure, including water and sewage systems and bridges, in utter ruins.
Urgent humanitarian aid
Mrs Deborah Chukwunyere, a Salvation Army emergency relief coordinator in Maiduguri, visited the crisis area and observed the camps for internally displaced people (IDP) set up by the National Emergency Management Agency. Due to overcrowding, more than 2,000 people were stranded in the community, without access to help or support.
The Salvation Army immediately provided urgent humanitarian aid in the form of food, hygiene and sanitary materials to 325 neglected and displaced families who were not able to be accommodated in the main IDP camps.
Territorial Commander Colonel Friday Ayanam, leader of The Salvation Army in Nigeria, told The Frontier news site: ‘As we pray and extend our support, we hope that Borno will soon recover and return to its former glory. We trust that, through collective efforts and God’s mercy, Maiduguri and the surrounding areas will rise again, stronger and more resilient than ever.
‘May the souls of those who have lost their lives rest in peace and may those who have lost homes and livelihoods find solace and strength...we pray for the swift recovery of Borno and for the resilience of its people to overcome this tragedy.’