No fewer than 21 people have been confirmed dead including 12 members of a family in a flood that occurred at Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.
The midnight flood which occurred Wednesday night was said to have left many other persons, including over 50 almajiri missing and destroyed many homes.
Although the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) confirmed 21 dead, residents however, said the casualty figure could be over 60.
According to DAILY TRUST, many of the victims of the incident, believed to be caused by a torrential downpour on Wednesday night, were children and women.
A student of the Niger State College of Health Technology, identified as Binta, who was in Mokwa for holidays, was among the victims. Her body was said to have been recovered.
A resident of the area, Hajiya Hassana Mokwa, told Daily Trust that 12 of the 13 members of her brother’s family died in the incident; while the only survivor was hospitalised.
She said the incident also claimed the lives of some pupils of a Quranic school owned by her cousin.
“In my brother’s house, there were 13 in number and only one person survived and is currently at the hospital.
“Many almajiri pupils in a Quranic school being operated by our cousin also died. Nobody survived in that house and the entire building was submerged. If you go there now, you won’t know if they ever built a house there.
“There is a one-storey building which was a residential building. It was completely submerged. As I speak with you, nobody has ascertained the number of people in the rubbles of that building”, she said.
She said as of 7pm yesterday, funerals were being held for those whose bodies had been recovered.
Another resident, one Mallam Hamza Mahmud, said bodies of two members of his family had been recovered; while three others were still missing.
The body of a pregnant woman was also recovered around 6pm and four of her children are missing.
One of the sources, Alhaji Baba Adamu, said: “The victims are mostly women and children. There are male adults, but they are not up to the number of women and children who died. “The body of a woman was recovered around 6pm. There is also a Quranic school where most of the pupils have not been found.”
The flood was also said to have cut off the major road linking the North and the South through Mokwa, causing a gridlock.
The chairman of Mokwa Local Government Area, Jibril Abdullahi Muregi, who spoke to our correspondent via telephone, said15 bodies had been recovered as at 12 noon.
He said the displaced persons were being sheltered in public primary schools in Mokwa.
“A lot of lives have been lost. So far, 15 bodies have been recovered, and a lot of properties have been destroyed.
“The flood was as a result of the rainfall yesterday (Wednesday). It was caused by the excess water which flowed from the Zugurma axis; though Mokwa town has erosion challenges.
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“The victims are in dire need of intervention because currently, some of them have been camped in public primary schools. We also need medical assistance for the victims because some of them have been affected psychologically and by environmental pollution,” Muregi said.
A resident, Mallam Bala Umar, said as of 1pm, over 20 bodies had been recovered.
“The extent of destruction and number of lives lost have not been ascertained because up till this moment, bodies are being recovered from the water.
“This water flowed from somewhere that we don’t know. The rain that fell in the night was not that heavy.
“Travelers are stranded because movements of vehicles to the south and from the north have stopped as the road is cut off,” he said.
Another resident, Tswata Mai Rubutu, stated: “Many families have lost homes, businesses have been destroyed, and precious belongings swept away”.
