The Federal Government on Friday said the flood in Maiduguri, Borno State was caused by overflow of the Ngadda River, and not collapse of the Alau Dam.
Disclosing this during a press briefing on Abuja, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engineer Joseph Utsev, said Alau Dam is intact.
Several people have been reported dead with properties worth billion of naira destroyed by the devastating flood in Maiduguri.
But, giving insight into the flood, the minister said the government never expected that the water level would rise this year to the magnitude it did.
The minister blamed climate change for the excessive downpour, adding that the “rivers could not actually contain the water”.
He added: “So, more water than was unexpected spilled into Alau Dam, and spilled over the dyke.
“Alau Dam did not collapse. It was one of the dykes that could not hold excess water coming from the tributaries; so it overflowed the dam.
“So, this flood disaster that affected Maiduguri and Jere areas of Borno State was largely due to overflow of water from Alau Dam, which is about 10 kilometers from Maiduguri city centre, owing to massive inflow from Ngadda river, a major tributary of River Yedzaram.”