Central Nigeria flood casualties climb to 115 fatalities reported
Heavy rains late on Wednesday led to the devastating flooding of numerous homes in Mokwa, Niger State, leaving at least 200 people missing or dead and hundreds more displaced.
Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesperson for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, shared with AFP that as of May 30, search and rescue teams had recovered 115 bodies, with the toll expected to rise as more bodies are discovered. Many are still missing, including a family of twelve wherein only four members have been accounted for.
According to Husseini, corpses were discovered within the debris of collapsed buildings, and his teams require excavators to retrieve the deceased from under the rubble. In a previous statement on Friday, Hussaini Isah, the official coordinating the operation, provided a preliminary estimate of 88 fatalities.
Emergency services were actively conducting search and rescue operations while residents sifted through the wreckage of collapsed buildings as floodwaters flowed alongside. Notable among the affected population were children playing in the contaminated waters, heightening the risk of water-borne diseases.
One emotional woman, wearing a maroon headscarf, sat in tears, evidently devastated by the loss. Mohammed Tanko, a civil servant, pointed to a home that once housed at least 15 of his loved ones, now reduced to ruins. Danjuma Shaba, a fisherman, expressed his predicament by stating he had no residence to return to, as his house had already collapsed.
The ongoing rainy season in Nigeria, which generally lasts six months, has only recently commenced. Flooding has proven disastrous in the past, taking hundreds of lives every year and wreaking havoc across the west African country. Scientists have warned that climate change contributes to more frequent and intense weather events.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had issued warnings of potential flash floods in 15 of Nigeria's 36 states, including Niger State, from Wednesday through Friday. In 2024, at least 1,200 people died, and over 1.2 million were displaced due to floods, making it one of Nigeria's worst in recent history, as reported by the National Emergency Management Agency.
[1] Over 3,018 residents were displaced, around 3,000 homes were submerged, and 265 were destroyed. Critical infrastructure, including bridges and roads, was severely damaged, resulting in significant property losses, including croplands. Emergency relief efforts offered food and essential non-food items to the affected residents.
- The devastating flooding in Mokwa, Niger State, situated in West Africa, has raised concerns about mental health among survivors who have lost their homes and loved ones.
- The Environmental Science department may provide insights into the impact of climate change on increasing the frequency and intensity of such floods in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.
- The health-and-wellness of the displaced residents is under threat due to potential waterborne diseases resulting from flooding and contaminated waters, especially among children playing in the floodwaters.
- The displaced residents in Niger State, West Africa, are in dire need of environmental-science-based solutions to cope with the aftermath of the flooding, such as infrastructure repairs, waste management, and the restoration of croplands for food security.
