Nigeria flash floods death toll rises to at least 151
At least 151 people in central Nigeria are now known to have died following flash floods that destroyed homes and displaced thousands of residents earlier this week.The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (Nsema) confirmed to the BBC the death toll had risen sharply from 115, after floods hit the town of Mokwa.A Nsema spokesman told the BBC more than 500 households with a population in excess of 3,000 people were affected. Some families are said to have lost between two and five relatives including children.The agency warned the death toll could rise further after people were washed into the River Niger below the town.
Local authorities said 11 people had been rescued and taken to hospitals for treatment. Nsema said the Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa districts of Mokwa were worst affected.Mokwa's district head Muhammad Shaba Aliyu said it has been 60 years since the community had suffered this kind of flooding."I beg the government to support us," Mr Aliyu said.But the officials appear to be overwhelmed by the scale of destruction as families desperately seek food and shelter. Mokwa is located at the edge of the River Niger, a transit point between the northern and southern part of Nigeria.A bridge linking the northern and south-western parts of the country has collapsed in the floods and left motorists stranded.Nigerian President Bola Tinubu directed "all relevant emergency and security agencies to intensify ongoing search and rescue operations".Torrential rain fell in the region on late Wednesday into Thursday, causing flash floods. Nigeria's rainy season is just beginning and usually lasts from April to October.Authorities have warned of heavy downpours in at least 15 of the country's 36 states.
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The death toll from devastating flooding in a market town in Nigeria's north-central state of Niger rose to at least 200 on Sunday, a local official said. Torrents of predawn rainfall early Thursday unleashed the devastating flood on Mokwa, nearly 380 kilometers (236 miles) west of Abuja and a major trading and transportation hub where northern Nigerian farmers sell beans, onions and other food to traders from the south. The deputy chairman of Mokwa Local Government, Musa Kimboku, confirmed the updated fatality count to The Associated Press on Sunday. He said rescue operations have been called off, as authorities no longer believe there are any survivors. To prevent the outbreak of disease, officials are currently exhuming bodies buried beneath the rubble, Kimboku added. On Saturday, the spokesperson for the Niger State emergency service, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, said an additional 11 people were injured and more than 3,000 people were displaced. At least 500 households across three communities were affected by the sudden and intense flood that built rapidly in about five hours, leaving roofs barely visible and surviving residents waist-deep in water, trying to salvage what they could and rescue others. Husseini added that two roads were washed away and two bridges collapsed. In a statement on Friday night, President Bola Tinubu expressed condolences and said he had directed the activation of an emergency response to support victims and 'accelerate' recovery. Flooding is common during Nigeria's wet season. Communities in northern Nigeria have been experiencing prolonged dry spells worsened by climate change and excessive rainfall that leads to severe flooding during the brief wet season. But this flood has been particularly deadly in Mokwa, a farming region near the banks of the River Niger. Mokwa community leader Aliki Musa said the villagers are not used to such flooding. The chairman of the Mokwa local government area, Jibril Muregi, told local news website Premium Times that construction of flood-control works was long overdue.
