Flood disaster in Central Nigeria claims 88 lives -

By Daisy Okiring

The death toll from flash floods in central Nigeria has risen to at least 88, with emergency services continuing to recover more bodies in the aftermath of Wednesday night’s torrential rains in Mokwa, Niger State.

According to Hussaini Isah, head of operations at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Niger State, the number of casualties is “rising,” as many residents remain unaccounted for after floodwaters swept through homes and entire neighborhoods.

“Rescue teams are still combing through the debris in multiple locations,” Isah told journalists, as the full extent of the destruction continues to unfold.

Earlier, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesman for the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), warned the death toll was likely to rise further, saying, “There are different rescuers working in different parts of Mokwa, so the numbers will increase as more bodies are discovered.”

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An AFP journalist on the scene described haunting visuals of residents sifting through rubble, searching for loved ones and belongings, as murky floodwaters flowed through the streets. Among the devastation, children played in stagnant pools, raising fears of an outbreak of waterborne diseases. Two bodies were seen on the roadside, covered with patterned cloth and banana leaves.

A woman in a maroon headscarf sat sobbing, while Mohammed Tanko, a 29-year-old civil servant, pointed to a leveled house, saying, “We lost at least 15 people from this house. Everything is gone—our memories, our family.”

Danjuma Shaba, a 35-year-old fisherman, said he now sleeps in a public car park. “My house has already collapsed. I have nowhere else to go.”

The floods came just weeks into Nigeria’s rainy season, which typically lasts six months. While flooding is an annual disaster in Nigeria, it has grown increasingly deadly, with experts attributing worsening conditions to climate change, poor infrastructure, blocked drainage, and the construction of homes on flood-prone land.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had earlier warned of possible flash floods across 15 states, including Niger, between May 28 and 30. In 2024, over 1,200 people died, and 1.2 million were displaced in one of the country’s worst flooding disasters in decades.