By Taiwo Adebayo and Chinedu Asadu
The Associated Press
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The death toll from devastating flooding in a market town in Nigeria’s north-central state of Niger rose to at least 151 on May 31, the local emergency service said, amid efforts to find more victims.
Torrents of predawn rainfall early May 29 unleashed the devastating flood on Mokwa, nearly 380 kilometers (236 miles) west of Abuja and a major trading and transportation hub where northern Nigerian farmers sell beans, onions and other food to traders from the south.
The spokesperson for the Niger State emergency service, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, confirmed the updated fatality count to The Associated Press on May 31. In addition to the rising death toll, 11 people were injured and more than 3,000 people were displaced, the official added.
At least 500 households across three communities were affected by the sudden and intense flood that built rapidly in about five hours, leaving roofs barely visible and surviving residents waist-deep in water, trying to salvage what they could and rescue others.
Husseini added that two roads were washed away and two bridges collapsed.
In a statement on the night of May 30, President Bola Tinubu expressed condolences and said he had directed the activation of an emergency response to support victims and “accelerate” recovery.
He said that security agencies have also been asked to assist in emergency operations, which remain underway amid concerns that more bodies could be recovered in remote areas.
“Relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay,” the president said, promising “no Nigerian affected will be left behind or unheard of.”
Flooding is common during Nigeria’s wet season. Communities in northern Nigeria have been experiencing prolonged dry spells worsened by climate change and excessive rainfall that leads to severe flooding during the brief wet season. But this flood has been particularly deadly in Mokwa, a farming region near the banks of the River Niger.
Mokwa community leader Aliki Musa told the AP the villagers are not used to such flooding.
The chairman of the Mokwa local government area, Jibril Muregi, told local news website Premium Times that construction of flood-control works was long overdue.
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This story has been corrected to say that the flooding happened early Thursday, not early Friday.