Heavy downpours on Saturday and Sunday flooded houses in Maiduguri in Borno State, in Wuyaram in the Dikwa Local Government Area, and in the Gujba and Gulani local government areas of Yobe State, where many watched in tears as their mud huts collapsed in front of their eyes.

Four people were swept away by the raging waters and were presumed to have died.

People were seen escaping their homes – with some carrying children on their shoulders in an effort to get out of their houses as quickly as possible, while others waded through water that kept rising and still others watched in horror as their huts collapsed.

The downpours started on Saturday and Sunday, July 16 and 17, leaving many with no shelter and destroyed possessions.

RNI reporter Ummi Fatima Baba Kyari spoke to flood victims in Maiduguri.

Ajid Isiyaka, from the suburb of Shuwari, said: “The rain flooded our whole house, destroying room after room. We stayed inside – even with all the water around us – and spent the night there because we had no other place to go to. We could not even cook food because of the flood.”

He said his small children had contracted some skin disease, causing rashes to appear all over their bodies from the water. “The government did not help us. Our lives are hard and the flood has just made our situation worse.”

Karu Mallam Bukar, from the Bakassi area, said: “Our houses are flooded. It happened last year too. Since then, we have been filling up sacks with sand to try to block the water from entering out homes, but it was all in vain.

“Last year we were given tents after the flood but no one is helping us now.”

The residents begged authorities to provide them with clothes, food, blankets and mosquito nets, he said, but so far no one had helped them.

RNI reporter Mustapha Alkali said many houses were destroyed by the heavy downpours in Wuyaram in the Dikwa Local Government Area.

Bulama Massa, a resident, said: “The rain started around 1am on Sunday. Water in the river nearby rose and it flooded our houses. Four of my rooms have collapsed, our foodstuff and clothes are all destroyed.”

Zara Modu said: “We have no place to stay as our rooms and belongings were all flooded with water.”

And Kolo Massa, another resident, said: “The flood almost killed us. I carried my children on my shoulders to get them out of the raging water. It destroyed all our belongings.”

The residents were pleading for assistance from the government to help them get shelters.

Houses and farmlands were destroyed on Saturday in the in Gujba and Gulani local government areas of Yobe State.

RNI reporter Alhaji Sheriff Bura said 11 villages in the Gulani Local Government Area of Yobe State were flooded, adding that drainage systems in Jumbulwa, Gulani and Bara collapsed in the heavy rain.

He said at least four people had been swept away in the raging flood waters and were missing. They were thought to be dead.

Bakura, a resident in Gujba, said: “Some of the houses, mostly mud huts, were destroyed and many others are flooded. There were people watching in horror, with tears running down their faces, as their mud huts collapsed before their eyes.”

Many people were packing what was left of their belongings to move to safer areas because they feared more flooding until the rainy season was over, he said.

AISHA SD JAMAL