Niger Flood Disaster: D3ath Toll Rises To 115

The flash floods that swept through two communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State have claimed 115 lives, according to an emergency services official on Friday, who warned that the de@th toll could rise further.

“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, Niger SEMA spokesman told AFP.

"Downstream, bodies are still being recovered. So, the toll keeps rising”.

Flooding after torrential rains late on Wednesday washed away more than 50 homes in the city of Mokwa in central Niger, drowning residents with many missing, according to the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents on Friday.

“We expect the toll to rise considerably because there are different rescuers at different locations,” Husseini said.

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.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday.