Death toll in central Nigeria flooding rises to 115

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 through early Thursday washed away and submerged dozens of homes in and around the town of Mokwa, located on the banks of Niger River, 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.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) described it as an “unprecedented flood”.

The police and military have been roped in to help with the disaster response.

An AFP journalist in Mokwa, more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) east of the capital Abuja,  saw emergency services conducting search and rescue operations with residents going through the rubble of flattened 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 banana leaves and printed cloth.

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,” he said.

Describing how she escaped the raging waters, Sabuwar Bala, 50, a yam vendor, said: “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.

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.

“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,” said NEMA in a statement.

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.