• 508 households in three communities affected

  • Two bridges, two roads cut off

From John Adams, Minna

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NISEMA) has provided an update on the number of casualties after the Wednesday night devastating flood disaster that wreaked havoc across three communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of the state, stating that the death toll as of Saturday now stands at 151.

In a breakdown of the damages released by the NISEMA Public Relations Officer, Mallam Hassan Mohammed, in Minna on Saturday, it is indicated that no fewer than 3,018 people were displaced from the 508 households that were affected in the disaster.

According to the agency, 256 houses were completely washed away with nothing to salvage from the destruction from the flood, which cut across three communities within Mokwa town, adding, however, that two bridges and two roads were affected in the disaster.

The climax of the flood disaster, the highest in the state in recent times, was the uprooting of a 100-year-old tree in the heart of the town, and this has left the communities speechless and attributing a spiritual dimension to the disaster.

A 75-year-old resident of Mokwa, Alhaji Usman Baba Mokwa, who spoke to our correspondent through an interpreter, said the flood was a mysterious one, stressing that though rain fell, it was not of the magnitude to cause this level of disaster.

“We have seen heavier rain than this one before, but it did not cause this level of destruction. There is more to this very flood disaster, but we will not be quick to conclude on the cause of this disaster,” he added.

Meanwhile, the federal government has paid a sympathy visit to the government and people of the state over the horrific flood disaster in Mokwa.

The federal government delegation was led by the Minister for Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, who expressed the federal government’s profound sorrow over the devastating flood disaster, which has tragically claimed the lives of several persons in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.

The minister was accompanied by the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatdo.

Mohammed Idris told the people that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been fully briefed on the situation and has directed all relevant emergency and security agencies to intensify ongoing search and rescue operations. The immediate priority of the federal government is to save lives and provide urgent relief to survivors through NEMA, which is ongoing.

According to Idris, the federal government extends its heartfelt condolences to the Niger State government and families of the victims. In this moment of grief, the nation stands united with them in solidarity, just as efforts are being made to mitigate future occurrences with President Tinubu’s directive to the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to begin a sensitisation and awareness campaign in such communities.

Similarly, the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatdo, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s position of extending its deepest condolences to the entire state, victims, and the Mokwa Local Government.

He pledged to review the situation on the needed areas of support to the IDPs and migrants in order to meet their needs; he, however, said that the flooding might be unconnected with the climate change being experienced.