Mokwa Flood: Death Toll Hits 200, Over 500 Missing

 The death toll in the flood disaster at Mokwa town in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State last Wednesday has risen to over 200 as more than 500 others are said to be missing.

The flood, which is said to be the worst in the area in 60 years, swept through the Mokwa districts of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa after late night torrential rains.

Hundreds of houses were also destroyed and many people displaced.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) yesterday reported that the official death toll after the incident had risen to more than 200, with over 500 other persons still missing.

Among the victims of the flood were women and children, including many pupils of Quranic schools in the area.

According to the BBC, a local official, Musa Kimboku, said rescue efforts had ceased because authorities no longer believed anyone could still be found alive.

The district head of Mokwa, Muhammadu Aliyu, was quoted as saying that authorities would soon start digging out corpses buried underground in order to prevent diseases in the area.

He was quoted to have said that some bodies were unrecoverable because they had gone “through the River Niger”.

According to reports, residents said they saw their homes and family members get washed away.

One of the residents, Adamu Yusuf, who lost his wife and newborn baby, was quoted as saying:  “I watched helplessly as water washed away my family. I survived because I could swim.”

Another resident, Saliu Sulaiman, said the flood had left him homeless and destroyed some of his business profits.

“I lost at least $1,500 to the floods. It was the proceeds from the sale of my farm produce the previous day. I contemplated going back into the room to get it, but the pressure of the water scared me.”

Some local residents said the flood was so devastating because a nearby dam had burst; the claim which is yet to be confirmed by the authorities.

The residents claimed that the pressure of the floodwater was so intense that bodies had been washed up in the town of Rabba, at least an hour’s drive from Mokwa.

An official of Mokwa Local Government Area, Musa Kimboku, told BBC that they had told neighbouring villages to bury “any corpse that they find.”

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted a local fisherman as saying that the flood had left him homeless.

“I don’t have a house to sleep in. My house has already collapsed,” Danjuma Shaba said.

Farida Auwalu, the lone survivor from a family of 16, lost seven children in the deluge. The bodies of four of Farida’s children have been found and buried.

“My hope is to see the remaining bodies and give them a decent burial and have closure,” she said.

Some flood survivors are struggling to get basic aid. “No one brought any money or food to help the victims. As you can see, many don’t have a place to sleep,” Hassan Umar,  a resident told Al Jazeera in Mokwa.