“No time to evacuate”: hundreds dead as floods devastate Nigeria

More than 150 people have been killed and thousands more displaced in floods that have devastated north-central Nigeria. As rescuers tirelessly sift through mud and debris, hundreds are feared missing.

Torrential rains struck the country on May 28^th and continued into the 28^th, leading to severe flooding along the Niger River. The rural town of Mokwa in Niger State was worst hit, with thousands displaced, and hundreds of homes destroyed, reports France 24.

The district head said it was the region’s worst flood in 60 years.

Nigeria’s monsoon runs from April to October, and while heavy rains are not unusual during this time, officials attributed the severity of the storm to a cold front that moved into Egypt on May 24th and 25th.

However residents are wary, and many believe the floods may have been caused by “a bigger problem upstream” said Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Mokwa.

“Maybe a dam burst, but up to now officials are not confirming that,” he added, “but the amount of water that came into this community is so much that nobody had any time to prepare to evacuate.”

Conservative estimates from the Niger State Emergency Management Agency say 151 people were killed after bodies were recovered nearly 10km from Mokwa.

But the death toll is likely much higher: “The usual thing is when an official tells you 151 are dead or missing, you are likely to multiply that by two, three, or four,” said Idris.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu extended his condolences overnight and said search-and-rescue operations were ongoing with the support of Nigeria’s security forces as many victims were believed to have been swept down the Niger River.

“Relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay,” he wrote in a post on social media.

The task is daunting. At least 3,018 people have been displaced, while 265 houses have been reduced to rubble.

“The grim task of recovering bodies and what little the residents and victims of this disaster can is what’s been going on since we arrived here in the early afternoon,” reports Idris.

One survivor said: “I escaped with only my nightdress. Right now, I can’t even identify where our home used to be.”

France 24/ Maghrebi