News & Current Events
Over 150 Dead As Torrential Rains Trigger Catastrophic Flooding In Nigeria
Massive flooding in Nigeria caused by excessive rainfall has resulted in over 150 fatalities and at least 3,000 property losses.
On Friday, a market town was battered by intense pre-dawn storms that left residents waist deep in water and rooftops hardly visible.
At least 500 families in three settlements in Mokwa, some 230 miles west of Abuja, Nigeria, were impacted by the rain, according to Ibrahim Audu Husseini, spokesman for the Niger state agency.
In northern Nigeria, communities have been suffering from protracted dry periods made worse by climate change, and during the brief wet season, excessive rainfall causes severe flooding.
According to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, he has ordered the national emergency response centre to be activated in order to promptly support the state.
“Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing, and all relevant federal agencies have been mobilised to support the state government’s efforts,” Mr Tinubu said in a late night message.
“Relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay. We will ensure that no Nigerian affected by this disaster is left behind or unheard of.”
On Saturday, locals were grieving for the deceased as others awaited word on the whereabouts of their loved ones.
The town, a significant gathering place where traders from the south purchase beans, onions, and other foods from farmers in the north, was also devastated, which they bemoaned.
“We lost many lives, and the properties, our farm produce. Those that have their storage have lost it,” said resident Kazeem Muhammed.
It follows the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians from their homes in September 2024 to prevent widespread flooding that ravaged the nation and let about 300 inmates break out of one jail.
The capital of northern Borno state, Maiduguri, had its worst floods in decades, destroying a dam that was containing the water.
According to the nation’s emergency organisation, the flood killed at least 30 people and impacted a million more, forcing hundreds of thousands of people into camps for displaced persons.
In Maiduguri, the floods “brought down the walls of the correctional facilities including the Medium Security Custodial Centre, as well as the staff quarters in the city,” officials said.
As a result, around 300 inmates managed to escape. Ordinary people, however, were not so fortunate.
Fatima Yakubu told AFP that when she woke up in the middle of the night in her northeastern Nigerian house, she discovered her legs underwater due to rising water levels.
People helped her and her six kids flee as she shouted.
A dam burst after two days of intense rain, displacing over a million people in and around Maiduguri and engulfing thousands of homes in quickly rising floods.
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