- Many people still missing
- Officials warn figures may rise
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT – The number of deaths recorded from the Thursday devastating floods in Niger State has so far risen to 115, officials of Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) have confirmed.
Following the flash floods, reports indicated that many homes were destroyed homes with thousands of residents displaced earlier this week.
Confirming the disturbing figures, Director General of the NSEMA, Abdullahi Baba Arah, said over 300 houses were destroyed in the flood, which ravaged Mokwa, the headquarters of Mokwa Local Government Area, on Thursday, causing the death of about 20 persons.
However, Arah said the latest casualty figure was confirmed around 5pm on Friday, adding that search and rescue operations were still ongoing as more people were yet to be accounted for.
An NSEMA official disclosed that more than 500 households with a population in excess of 3,000 people were affected while some families have reportedly lost between two and five relatives, including children.
This is as the Agency warned the death toll could rise further after people were washed into the River Niger below the town.
Additionally, local authorities said 11 people were rescued and taken to hospitals for treatment, even as NSEMA explained that the Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa districts of Mokwa were worst affected.
Reacting to the unfortunate development, the District Head of Mokwa, Muhammad Shaba Aliyu said it has been over 60 years since the community was exposed to such devastating flooding.
With the District Head appealing for urgent intervention from the State and Federal Government, residents of the area expressed sadness that many families are reeling from the loss of loved ones.
Amid the grief and despair hanging heavy over the community, there are claims that several travellers, who stopped over as usual for prayers or to pass the night in the busy Mokwa town, were affected by the flood, and several of them are yet to be identified.
It was reliably gathered that aside some families that have unfortunately been wiped out completely, schools and places of worship were submerged to further compound the tragedy.
Some residents also claimed that fatalities have indeed risen within the last 24 hours with one of the Community members, who identified himself as Mallam M.D. Mai Rubutu, saying that more bodies were recovered on Friday, but failed to give details of the numbers affected.
A woman identified as Kaka Dazana reportedly lost all four of her children and was barely rescued herself, even as one single family reportedly lost 13 out of 15 members, while another woman and her three children are missing, with no signs of their survival.
Eyewitnesses also hinted that a large mosque, once considered a place of refuge, collapsed while it was filled with worshippers, lamenting that even those who sought safety on the rooftop were not spared.
With President Bola Tinubu directing “all relevant emergency and security agencies to intensify ongoing search and rescue operations”, emergency officials expressed fears that many persons may have been swept into the River Niger through the Rabba and Koshaba valleys.
Torrential downpour in the region late Wednesday into Thursday, caused flash floods that continue to destroy lives and property on its path
Meanwhile, relevant authorities have warned of heavy downpours in at least 15 of the 36 states nationwide
