A tragic disaster has struck the heart of Nigeria, as flash floods in Mokwa, Niger State, have left at least 88 people dead and many others missing. After heavy rainfall on Wednesday night, entire homes were washed away, leaving families shattered and communities in shock.
Rescue teams have been working nonstop to find missing residents. On Friday, Hussaini Isah, head of operations for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Niger State, confirmed the rising death toll.
“The death toll is about 88,” Isah said. “And the number is rising.”
Local authorities are still struggling to get accurate numbers. According to Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesperson for Niger State’s emergency services, several rescue teams are working in different areas, making coordination tough.
“We expect the toll to rise considerably,” he said.
A City in Ruins
Journalists on the ground described heartbreaking scenes. Buildings had collapsed, floodwaters were still running through the streets, and people were digging through the rubble with their bare hands. Two bodies were found, covered with printed cloth and banana leaves, while children, unaware of the danger, played in the contaminated water.
An emotional woman, dressed in a maroon headscarf, sat nearby, silently crying as the tragedy unfolded around her.
Mohammed Tanko, a 29-year-old civil servant, pointed to the ruins of the house he grew up in.
“We lost at least 15 from this house,” he said. “The property is gone. We lost everything.”
Another survivor, 35-year-old fisherman Danjuma Shaba, said he had nowhere to go.
“I don’t have a house to sleep in. My house has already collapsed.”
Why Nigeria Keeps Flooding
Nigeria’s rainy season has just begun, and experts fear things could get worse. Flooding is a yearly problem in the country, often made worse by poor drainage systems, homes built in flood zones, and people dumping waste in waterways.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had already warned about potential flash floods in 15 states, including Niger, just days before the disaster.
Climate change is also making storms more extreme and unpredictable. In 2024 alone, over 1,200 people were killed and more than 1.2 million displaced by floods in 31 out of Nigeria’s 36 states, one of the worst flooding years in decades.
By Lucky Anyanje