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More than 700 people remain unaccounted for following devastating flash floods that hit Niger state in central Nigeria last month, authorities confirmed Wednesday. The disaster has claimed at least 207 lives, with rescuers still searching for those missing.
The floods struck the town of Mokwa after intense, hours-long rainfall late last month, sweeping away homes and communities. The destruction left over 400 houses ruined and displaced more than 3,000 residents, officials said.
“Over 700 persons are still missing, and we have yet to determine their whereabouts,” Niger state Deputy Governor Yakubu Garba said in an official statement.
The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has verified the death toll of 207 but emphasized that the search and accounting efforts for missing residents continue.
Nigeria is currently in the early stages of its six-month rainy season, which frequently brings severe flooding across the country. The impacts are worsened by poor drainage systems, construction in flood-prone areas, and the blockage of waterways by waste.
Experts warn that climate change is driving more extreme weather events in Nigeria, contributing to the increasing severity of such floods.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has issued alerts for possible flash floods across most of the nation’s 36 states this season.
Last year, Nigeria endured one of its worst flood seasons in decades, with over 300 people killed and more than a million displaced across 34 states, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
