Many flood victims, who were forced to sleep outside, said they are eager to return home and assess their losses now that the water has subsided.

Residents of the Maiduguri town, Borno State in North-east displaced by water from the Alau Dam are beginning to return to their homes as flood water recedes gradually.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many flood victims, who were forced to sleep outside, said they are eager to return home and assess their losses now that the water has subsided.

"We are just rushing to see what is left of our homes and to salvage any remnants of our property we can still use," Ali Bana of Gwange ward said.

Musa Abdullahi of Gomari ward said he was able to get to his house.

"My house is still flooded. From the look of things, we have more days to spend outside before we can move back in," Mr Abdullahi said.

Meanwhile, a situation report on the flood by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 239,000 people were affected by the flood.

"The floods have forced some of the affected people to move spontaneously to the Muna IDP camp, which was already hosting over 50,000 IDPs.

"Government authorities have evacuated residents in high-risk riverine areas to several locations," the report noted.

NAN reports that the flood incident has affected communication, power and water supply in most parts of town.

(NAN)