Torrential floods have swept through northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State, leaving entire neighborhoods submerged, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, and creating chaos in the streets as both people and wild animals seek refuge.

The floodwaters, which have claimed at least 30 lives, began earlier this week after the Alau Dam, located just outside the regional capital of Maiduguri, burst its banks.

The dam’s collapse unleashed a wall of water across the region, causing widespread destruction and affecting over a million people. Around 200,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes as entire communities are flooded. Experts warn that with the changing climate, the region may face more frequent and severe flood events in the future.

Adding to the crisis, animals from the Sanda Kyarimi Zoo Park, also known as Maiduguri Zoo, have been swept into the floodwaters. Ali Abatcha, the zoo’s general manager, revealed that 80 percent of the animals housed at the zoo perished in the floods. Some of the surviving animals, including snakes and crocodiles, have escaped into the streets of Maiduguri, causing further panic among residents.

Reports also suggest that a lion may have escaped from the zoo. As of now, the animal’s whereabouts remain unknown, adding to the atmosphere of anxiety in the city. Maiduguri, which has a population of over 870,000, has seen more than 40 percent of its area covered in floodwaters, including the Muna and Jere internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, home to roughly 230,000 people.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that wild animals, including crocodiles and snakes, have broken free from their enclosures as a result of the flooding. Emergency services are working around the clock to manage both the humanitarian crisis and the threat posed by these animals.

In response to the disaster, the Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has begun evacuating residents from the worst-hit areas. Efforts are also underway to provide food, shelter, and medical assistance to those affected.

The devastating torrential floods began over the weekend but intensified in the early hours of Monday, September 9, 2024. The disaster was triggered by the collapse of one of the Alau Dam’s spillways, which significantly increased the flow of water downstream, exacerbating the flooding in Maiduguri and surrounding areas.