Latest news with #flashfloods
News24
5 hours ago
- Climate
- News24
Rescuers fan out after Nigeria flooding kills more than 150
Death toll from flash floods in Mokwa, Nigeria, rises to 151; over 3 000 displaced and 265 homes destroyed. Search teams are combing areas up to 10km away, with bodies feared swept down the Niger River. Torrential rains collapsed a mosque sheltering travellers; over 100 people remain missing. Search teams fanned out several kilometres from the epicentre of deadly flash flooding in Nigeria on Saturday, the Red Cross said, as the death toll from heavy rains in the north-central market town of Mokwa topped 150. The sharp rise in the toll came as bodies were recovered nearly 10 kilometres away from the town, where more than 250 buildings were levelled, and two bridges were swept away, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesperson for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, told AFP. Husseini warned the toll could rise further, with bodies being swept down the powerful Niger River. Gideon Adamu, head of the Red Cross in Niger state, told AFP search teams were heading toward Jebba, on the opposite side of the waterway's swampy banks. Mokwa was hit by torrential rains on Wednesday night into Thursday, with the flooding displacing more than 3 000, Husseini said. There were 121 injured in hospital, Adamu said, while more than 100 people were missing. Nigeria's rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year. Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the West African country. Scientists have also warned that climate change is fuelling more extreme weather patterns. 'We can't give up' Roads were still inundated in Mokwa on Friday, an AFP journalist observed, with Husseini saying his team would need excavators to reach bodies feared buried under the rubble. Residents in the town, some 350 kilometres by road from the capital Abuja, were still searching for loved ones. In some cases, families were missing a dozen people. Adamu, the Red Cross chief, told AFP 'we can't give up the search as long as there are families crying out'. Adamu said: If there were some bodies that were carried away by the flooding, we'll find them in the farmland on the Jebba side. According to a tally shared by Husseini, 151 people were killed, 3,018 were displaced, 265 houses were destroyed, and two bridges were washed away in the busy, rural market town. Mohammed Tanko, 29, a civil servant, pointed to a house he grew up in, telling reporters Friday: 'We lost at least 15 from this house. The property (is) gone. We lost everything.' Floods in Nigeria are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels. 'This tragic incident serves as a timely reminder of the dangers associated with building on waterways and the critical importance of keeping drainage channels and river paths clear,' the National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. Complicating the search for missing persons was the presence of a large group of travellers staying overnight in a Mokwa mosque when the rains hit, Adamu said. The building collapsed, and it was still unknown where the people were travelling from. President Bola Tinubu said the disaster response was being aided by security forces. Warning sounded The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria's 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday. In 2024, more than 1 200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in at least 31 out of Nigeria's 36 states, making it one of the country's worst flood seasons in decades, according to NEMA. Describing how she escaped the raging waters, Sabuwar Bala, a 50-year-old yam vendor, told reporters: 'I was only wearing my underwear; someone loaned me all I'm wearing now. I couldn't even save my flip-flops.' 'I can't locate where my home stood because of the destruction,' she said.
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Climate
- Khaleej Times
Nigeria: At least 115 killed in flash floods; toll expected to rise further
Flash floods that ripped through parts of central Nigeria have killed at least 115 people, an emergency services official said on Friday, with the toll expected to rise further. Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents after torrential rains late on Wednesday washed away and submerged dozens of homes in and around the city of Mokwa, in Niger state. "We have so far recovered 115 bodies and more are expected to be recovered because the flood came from far distance and washed people into the River Niger," Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency told AFP. "Downstream, bodies are still being recovered. So, the toll keeps rising," he added. He said many were still missing, citing a family of 12 where only four members have been accounted for. "Some bodies were recovered from the debris of collapsed homes," he said, adding that his teams would need excavators to retrieve corpses from under the rubble. Earlier on Friday, an official coordinating the search and rescue operation, Hussaini Isah, had given a provisional toll of 88. An AFP journalist saw emergency services conducting search and rescue operations as residents searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings as flood waters flowed alongside. 'We lost everything' Displaced children played in the flood waters, heightening the possibility of exposure to water-borne diseases as at least two bodies lay covered in printed cloth and banana leaves. An emotional woman in a maroon headscarf sat with tears dripping down her face. Mohammed Tanko, 29, a civil servant, pointed to a house he grew up in, telling reporters "we lost at least 15 from this house. The property (is) gone. We lost everything". Fisherman Danjuma Shaba, 35, said he slept rough in a car park. "I don't have a house to sleep in. My house has already collapsed," said Shaba. Nigeria's rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year. Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the west African country. Scientists have also warned that climate change is already fuelling more extreme weather patterns. In Nigeria, the floods are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria's 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday. In 2024, more than 1,200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in at least 31 out of Nigeria's 36 states, making it one of the country's worst floods in decades, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Violent Pakistan storms trigger floods, landslides killing 10
Muzaffarabad, Pakistan: At least 10 people were killed and 43 injured as strong winds and thunderstorms triggered flash floods and destroyed homes in central and northern parts of Pakistan, officials said Wednesday. Four women and a man died in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and three in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the State Disaster Management Authority said, while other officials said two died in Punjab. 'One person is still missing,' Haroon Rasheed, a senior government official in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told AFP, adding that 12 houses and a mosque were destroyed in one village. Storms on Saturday killed at least 14 people and injured over 100 more across the country, which is grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events blamed on climate change. Stormy weather is expected to continue in northern and central parts of the country until Saturday, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Soaring temperatures in April and May are becoming more common in Pakistan, which usually sees summer begin in early June. Temperatures reached near-record levels in April — as high as 46.5 Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in parts of Punjab. Schools in Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces have closed early for summer vacations because of the heat.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Violent Pakistan Storms Trigger Floods, Landslides Killing 10
At least 10 people were killed and 43 injured as strong winds and thunderstorms triggered flash floods and destroyed homes in central and northern parts of Pakistan, officials said Wednesday. Four women and a man died in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and three in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the State Disaster Management Authority said, while other officials said two died in Punjab. "One person is still missing," Haroon Rasheed, a senior government official in Pakistan administered Kashmir told AFP, adding that 12 houses and a mosque were destroyed in one village. Storms on Saturday killed at least 14 people and injured over 100 more across the country, which is grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events blamed on climate change. Stormy weather is expected to continue in northern and central parts of the country until Saturday, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Soaring temperatures in April and May are becoming more common in Pakistan, which usually sees summer begin in early June. Temperatures reached near-record levels in April -- as high as 46.5 Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in parts of Punjab. Schools in Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces have closed early for summer vacations because of the heat.
Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Khaleej Times
Violent Pakistan storms trigger floods, landslides killing 10
At least 10 people were killed and 43 injured as strong winds and thunderstorms triggered flash floods and destroyed homes in central and northern parts of Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday. Four women and a man died in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and three in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the State Disaster Management Authority said, while other officials said two died in Punjab. "One person is still missing," Haroon Rasheed, a senior government official in Pakistan administered Kashmir told AFP, adding that 12 houses and a mosque were destroyed in one village. Storms on Saturday killed at least 14 people and injured over 100 more across the country, which is grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events blamed on climate change. Stormy weather is expected to continue in northern and central parts of the country until Saturday, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Soaring temperatures in April and May are becoming more common in Pakistan, which usually sees summer begin in early June. Temperatures reached near-record levels in April -- as high as 46.5 Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in parts of Punjab. Schools in Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces have closed early for summer vacations because of the heat.
