In Just Hours, the Waters Rose to Roof Level

The death toll from devastating flooding in a market town in Nigeria's north-central state of Niger rose to at least 151 on Saturday, the local emergency service said, amid efforts to find more victims. Torrents of predawn rainfall early Thursday unleashed the flood on Mokwa, nearly 240 miles west of Abuja and a major trading and transportation hub where northern Nigerian farmers sell beans, onions, and other food to traders from the south. A spokesperson for the Niger State emergency service, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, confirmed the updated fatality count to the AP on Saturday.

In addition to the rising death toll, 11 people were injured and more than 3,000 people were displaced, Husseini added. At least 500 households across three communities were affected by the sudden and intense flood that built rapidly in about five hours, leaving roofs barely visible and surviving residents waist-deep in water, trying to salvage what they could and rescue others. Husseini added that two roads were washed away and two bridges collapsed.

In a statement on Friday night, President Bola Tinubu expressed condolences and said he'd directed the activation of an emergency response to support victims and "accelerate" recovery. He said that security agencies have also been asked to assist in emergency operations, which remain underway amid concerns that more bodies could be recovered in remote areas. "Relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay," the president said, promising "no Nigerian affected will be left behind or unheard of."

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Flooding is common during Nigeria's wet season. Communities in northern Nigeria have been experiencing prolonged dry spells worsened by climate change, as well as excessive rainfall that leads to severe flooding during the brief wet season. This flood, however, has been particularly deadly in Mokwa, a farming region near the banks of the Niger River. Mokwa community leader Aliki Musa said that the villagers aren't used to such flooding. The chairman of the Mokwa local government area, Jibril Muregi, told a local news website that construction of flood-control works was long overdue.

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