The floods have forced more than 200,000 people to live on their rooftops in the northern town of Agadez

Displaced by devastating floods, Nigerians are forced to use floodwater despite cholera risk

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

More than 200,000 Nigerians have been forced to live on their rooftops in the northern town of Agadez in the wake of devastating floods.

“We were not able to get rid of the people in search of safe places and to ensure they are safe and receive food and clean water,” said a local council official.

The floods, which began on Wednesday after torrential rains fell, have forced the displacement of more than 200,000 people.

A regional government official said the situation was likely to worsen following the onset of a cold front which is expected to bring more intense rains.

In Agadez, where about 11,000 people have been living on the rooftops of their homes since the flooding, people and officials said a similar number had left the town in recent days.

One woman said the floods had left the town without electricity, gas and water.

“Now in this rain is a flood, we have water and we don’t know where to go, we don’t know where to go,” she said.

Residents said some people had fled to the town’s two largest mosques in a bid to escape the floods.

Another local told Al Jazeera the town was “almost at the tipping point” and officials had been able to collect only a third of the population’s belongings.”We have no more resources to manage them or give them water,” he said.

“The people are afraid to go out. Many people are still afraid for their lives,” he added.

The floods are the worst in generations for Agadez, a city of around 175,000 people and one of the main urban centres in the oil-rich north.

The rains are expected to return in the coming days, with the cold front expected to bring even more torrential rains.

“The water is coming back with a vengeance. It has been one continuous storm for the last three days,” said a local official.

Nigerians have been advised

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