Nigeria Dam Collapse Floods Communities with Deadly Reptiles

On Tuesday, a dam in northeastern Nigeria collapsed, leading to significant flooding that forced residents to evacuate and resulted in dangerous reptiles from a zoo being released into nearby communities. This incident has raised serious concerns about public safety in the affected areas, according to local officials and zoo management.

The Alau dam’s failure in Borno state has instigated what officials are calling some of the worst flooding in the region since the dam’s last collapse, which occurred thirty years ago. Heavy rainfall had left the dam at full capacity, contributing to the disaster, as noted by the state government.

Approximately 15% of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, is currently submerged under water. Nahum Daso, the state’s police spokesperson, confirmed to The Associated Press that, as of now, there are no verified reports of fatalities related to the flooding.

The impact on the local wildlife has also been devastating. In the Borno State Museum Park, an estimated 80% of the animals perished due to the rising waters. Additionally, the formation of breaches in the zoo’s enclosure led to the escape of numerous reptiles, including some species regarded as dangerous, according to zoo general manager Ali Abatcha Don Best.

“Some deadly animals have been washed away into our communities, animals like crocodiles and snakes,” Best said, underscoring the potential threat these escaped reptiles pose to the local population.

In response to the situation, local authorities have issued a flooding alert and ordered immediate evacuations for residents living near riverbanks. Usman Tar, Borno’s commissioner for information and internal security, announced that all schools in the state will close for the next two weeks as a precautionary measure.

This catastrophic incident is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis in Borno, which has been grappling with the repercussions of Boko Haram insurgency for the past decade. The violence associated with the insurgent group, which has extended beyond Nigeria’s borders around Lake Chad, has claimed more than 35,000 lives and displaced approximately 2.6 million people in the northeastern region of the country.

Boko Haram, along with its affiliate linked to the Islamic State group, seeks to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, a nation with a population of 170 million people that is approximately evenly divided between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north.

The crisis in Borno was highlighted earlier this year when at least 18 people were killed in a string of coordinated suicide bombings that targeted a wedding, a funeral, and a hospital.

As the region continues to face challenges from flooding and insurgent attacks, the situation in Borno remains critical. The local government is working to manage the immediate fallout from the dam collapse while trying to address the larger ongoing humanitarian issue stemming from years of conflict.