Officials said the official death toll of the deadly floods after the attack on the Nigerian town of Mokwa on Thursday has risen to more than 200.
There are still 500 people missing in the town in central Niger, but local official Musa Kimboku told the BBC that rescue efforts have stopped because authorities no longer believe that anyone can still be found alive.
It is said that the area has been flooding 60 years since the flooding has swept the Mokwa areas of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa after the heavy rain.
Muhammadu Aliyu, head of the Mokwa region, said that in order to prevent disease in the area, authorities will soon start digging out bodies buried underground.
The scene of the disaster was narrated, and local residents told the BBC they saw their homes and family washed out.
A man, Adamu Yusuf, lost his wife and newborn baby.
He told the BBC: “I watched helplessly as the water washed away my family. I survived because I could swim.”
Another resident, Saliu Sulaiman, said the floods left him homeless and destroyed some of his cash business profits.
“I lost at least $1,500 in flooding. That’s the gain from selling my farm the day before. I was going to go back to the room to get it, but the pressure of the water scared me.”
Some local residents say the flood was so devastating due to the dam nearby, but authorities have not confirmed that.
On Sunday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) announced that it had begun the process of providing relief packages to affected people.
The agency added in a Facebook post that roads and bridges were also affected by flooding, which had a ripple effect on local economy and transportation.
The Nigerian Red Cross also issued a statement on Friday saying that the flood caused “huge loss of life and widespread trouble”.
During the Nigerian rainy season, flooding is not uncommon, and the Nigerian rainy season lasts until October.
In 2024, Nigeria suffered flooding due to heavy rain, causing death and driving people out of their homes.
In 2022, more than 600 people died and 1.3 million were displaced.
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