Flash flooding earlier this week in the central Nigerian town of Mokwa killed more than 150 people, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency said on Saturday, warning that the toll could still rise.
The figures shared with AFP by Ibrahim Audu Husseini noted a sharp rise from the previous toll of 115 dead, while also showing more than 3,000 people were displaced, 265 houses "completely destroyed" and two bridges washed away.
Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing, President Bola Tinubu said, as officials warned the death toll was expected to rise.
Torrential rains late Wednesday through early Thursday washed away and submerged dozens of homes in and around the town of Mokwa, located near the Niger River.
Bodies swept
Bodies were swept into the river and carried downstream, complicating efforts to compile a death toll, Husseini told AFP.
Tinubu, in an overnight post on social media, said that security forces were being sent to help first responders, while "relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay".
Buildings collapsed and roads were inundated in the town, located more than 350 kilometres (215 miles) by road from the capital Abuja, an AFP journalist in Mokwa observed Friday.
Emergency services and residents searched through the rubble as floodwaters flowed alongside.
"Some bodies were recovered from the debris of collapsed homes," Husseini said, adding that his teams would need excavators to retrieve corpses.
Rainy season
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that the Nigerian Red Cross, local volunteers, the military and police were all aiding in the response.
Nigeria's rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year.
Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the west African country.
Scientists have also warned that climate change is fuelling more extreme weather patterns.
In Nigeria, the floods are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels.
According to the Daily Trust newspaper, thousands of people have been displaced and more than 50 children in an Islamic school were reported missing.
Weatherman’s warning
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria's 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday.
In 2024, more than 1,200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in at least 31 out of Nigeria's 36 states, making it one of the country's worst flood seasons in decades, according to NEMA.
Local media reported that more than 5,000 people have been left homeless, while the Red Cross said two major bridges in the town were torn apart.
