ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian government has warned of possible flooding in 11 states after water burst from a dam in neighboring Cameroon.
Nigeria’s hydrological agency said on Wednesday that water would be gradually released from the Lagdo Dam and that flooding could occur, but that there was no reason to panic.
Severe flooding has hit northeastern Nigeria, affecting more than 400,000 people, according to the United Nations.
Floods in Borno state have forced people to flee their homes and move to displacement sites. Earlier this month, 30 people were killed by floods in the state after the collapse of a large damAbout 15% of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, was under water.
The floods have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria, where armed violence, particularly in the troubled northern region, has already displaced millions of people.
West Africa has suffered its worst flooding in decades this year, affecting more than 2 million people, three times more than last year. In 2022, more than 600 people were affected by flooding in Nigeria when water was released from the same Lagdo dam in Cameroon.