At least 111 people have died in central Nigeria’s Niger State following hours of torrential rain that triggered devastating floods earlier this week, according to emergency officials.
The town of Mokwa was hardest hit, with more than 50 homes swept away in the surging waters.
Officials from the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) said entire districts — especially Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa in Mokwa — were submerged. Some of the houses were washed away with residents still inside, and many more people remain missing as search and rescue operations continue.
“It’s been 60 years since our town experienced this kind of disaster,” Mokwa’s District Head, Muhammad Shaba Aliyu, told the BBC, pleading for urgent government assistance.
A local fisherman, Danjuma Shaba, told AFP that he had lost everything. “I don’t have a house to sleep in,” he said. “My house has already collapsed.”
According to DW, the floods were made worse by the collapse of a nearby dam. Emergency officials expect the death toll to rise as more bodies are being recovered. The spokesperson for the state emergency agency, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, said rescue teams were working in multiple locations and the situation remained critical.
Mokwa, a trading hub linking southern traders with northern farmers, sits around 220km west of Abuja. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of flash floods in 15 states, including Niger, as the rainy season — which typically lasts six months — begins.
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Flooding is a recurring threat in Nigeria. Inadequate drainage, construction on floodplains, and blocked water channels make communities especially vulnerable. The country suffered severe flooding in 2022 and again in 2024, when more than 1,200 people died and over 1.2 million were displaced.
As rainfall intensifies across the country, experts warn that better planning and infrastructure are urgently needed to reduce the risk of future tragedies.
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