- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
Dam overflow sparks new crisis in insurgency-hit Nigerian city
Flood water from an overflowing dam has destroyed tens of houses in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno state in northeast Nigeria, with emergency officials fearing the situation could get worse.
Several aerial videos and photos shared by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with AFP showed rows of houses submerged in murky water.
An epicentre of more than a decade-long jihadist insurgency, Maiduguri serves as the hub for the responses to the humanitarian crisis in the northeast region.
The United Nations refugee agency in Nigeria (UNHCR) said on its X account that it is the city’s worst flooding in 30 years.
"It is an unprecedented incident," NEMA spokesman Ezekiel Manzo told AFP on Tuesday. "Some of the central parts of the city that have not witnessed flood in so many years are witnessing it today."
The flood also sacked the city’s post office and main zoo, with authorities warning that "deadly animals has been washed away into our communities (sic)."
Manzo said forecasts did not prepare the emergency workers for the extent of the flooding, while also blaming the impact of climate change for the "disaster".
He told AFP that there were deaths as a result of the incident but declined to give a specific number as rescue workers continue rescue operations in the affected areas.
With flooding still "high in many parts of the city", authorities have opened three "temporary shelters" for the victims.
"Homes are submerged, schools shut down & businesses crippled as people evacuate with their belongings," UNCHR Nigeria said.
Floods have killed at least 201 people and displaced around 225,000 more in parts of the country but mainly in the northern region as of September 3.
Most of the deaths were in the country’s northern region. The NEMA spokesman told AFP at the end of last month that the central and southern parts of Nigeria may be hit harder as rain intensifies.
At least 115,000 hectares (285,000 acres) of farmland have also been affected, NEMA figures showed.
Damages to farmland will worsen Nigeria’s high rates of food insecurity, Save the Children warned last week.
"One in every six children across Nigeria faced hunger in June-August this year –- a 25% increase on the same period last year, the NGO said in a statement.
Flooding, usually caused by abundant rains and poor infrastructure, has caused large-scale destruction in Africa's most populous country in the past.
More than 360 people died and more than 2.1 million were displaced in 2012.
In 2022, more than 500 people died and 1.4 million were displaced in the worst floods in a decade.
President Bola Tinubu's office said he is working with state authorities to "address the immediate humantarian needs of the affected people."
J.Williams--AMWN