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Flash floods triggered by heavy rains have devastated a central Nigerian state, killing at least 150 individuals and displacing 1000’s since Thursday, and rescue staff say the toll might rise.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing as roads have been broken and houses destroyed whereas our bodies are believed to have been swept down the Niger River.
Here’s what to know in regards to the floods and the way inclined Nigeria is to such occasions.
What areas in Nigeria are flooding?
Flash floods hit Mokwa, a market city situated in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State. It adopted intense rainfall that started about 3am (02:00 GMT) on Thursday, in keeping with the Nigerian Purple Cross Society.
Mokwa is a key assembly and transit level for merchants from the south and meals growers within the north. It’s about 350km (217 miles) by street east of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Mokwa has an estimated population of 400,000 whereas Niger is the nation’s fourth largest state by dimension, overlaying extra space than Belgium or Switzerland.
How many individuals have died?
Greater than 150 individuals have been confirmed killed whereas rescue groups proceed to get better our bodies and seek for lacking individuals.
The precise demise toll is likely higher as many victims are believed to have been swept down the Niger River, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris mentioned, reporting from Mokwa.
“The same old factor is when an official tells you 151 are lifeless or lacking, you might be prone to multiply that by two, three or 4,” he mentioned.
A minimum of 3,018 individuals have been displaced, 265 homes destroyed and two bridges washed away within the floods, in keeping with Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Administration Company.
Of these injured, 121 had been in hospital, and greater than 100 individuals had been lacking, Gideon Adamu, head of the Purple Cross in Niger State, advised the AFP information company on Saturday.
“We will’t quit the search so long as there are households crying out,” Adamu mentioned.
Farida Auwalu, the lone survivor from a household of 16, misplaced seven youngsters within the deluge. The our bodies of 4 of Farida’s youngsters have been discovered and buried.
“My hope is to see the remaining our bodies and provides them a good burial and have closure,” she advised Al Jazeera.
What brought on the flooding in Nigeria?
Consultants mentioned the frequency and severity of floods in Nigeria have elevated attributable to local weather change, unregulated development and poor drainage infrastructure.
Mokwa residents additionally consider the flooding was brought on by “a much bigger downside upstream, possibly a dam burst, however to date, officers usually are not confirming that”, Idris mentioned. Niger State has three main dams – Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro – whereas a fourth is beneath development.
Regardless of flood dangers being recognized, there was a scarcity of political will to implement the options for them, in keeping with Ugonna Nkwunonwo, a flood threat analyst on the College of Nigeria. “The quantity of rain you anticipate in a yr might most likely are available one or two months, and persons are not ready for that sort of rainfall,” he advised Al Jazeera.
Many areas within the nation lack proper drainage programs, and present ones are sometimes clogged with waste, inflicting water to build up on the streets throughout heavy rains. Moreover, fast city growth with out correct planning has led to the development of buildings in flood-prone areas, lowering the land’s pure capability to soak up water. Deforestation for agriculture and growth additional reduces the land’s capability to take in rainfall, rising the stream of water over the land.
Native leaders and residents are calling for state and federal authorities to intervene with long-term help and infrastructure to rebuild their communities and shield them from flooding.
“Warnings have been put out by authorities for individuals uncovered or communities residing alongside river banks to maneuver to greater floor, particularly when the rains begin to peak, however yearly, we proceed to see increasingly more lives and property broken due to rainfall,” Idris mentioned.
How are authorities responding?
Emergency providers – together with the Nationwide Emergency Administration Company (NEMA), the Niger State Emergency Administration Company, the Nigerian Purple Cross and native volunteers – are engaged in search and rescue operations.
President Bola Tinubu has additionally ordered an emergency response, together with the supply of assist and short-term shelter.
“Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing, and all related federal companies have been mobilised to help the state authorities’s efforts,” Tinubu wrote in a social media put up on Saturday.
Nonetheless, broken roads and bridges have difficult rescue and restoration efforts.
Some flood survivors are struggling to get primary assist. “Nobody introduced any cash or meals to assist the victims. As you possibly can see, many don’t have a spot to sleep,” Hassan Umar advised Al Jazeera in Mokwa.
A key bridge that connects the northern and southwestern components of the nation collapsed, leaving motorists stranded and disrupting motion of autos throughout the area.
What was the latest pure catastrophe in Nigeria?
In September, extreme flooding within the northwestern metropolis of Maiduguri in Borno State submerged two-thirds of town, killed not less than 30 individuals and displaced almost half one million.
Greater than 200 inmates additionally escaped from a flood-damaged jail. The catastrophe was triggered by weeks of intense rainfall and the collapse of the Alau dam in northeastern Nigeria.
Throughout the nation in 2024, flooding killed greater than 1,200 individuals and displaced 1.2 million in not less than 31 of 36 states, in keeping with NEMA.
Which states in Nigeria are vulnerable to flooding?
The Nigerian Meteorological Company has warned of attainable flash floods in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states, together with Niger, from Wednesday to Friday.
Within the south, low-lying states like Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta within the Niger Delta area expertise frequent flooding attributable to their coastal places. Within the north, Kogi, Benue and Borno states are additionally vulnerable to floods as a result of they’re on main rivers.
The nation’s rainy season sometimes begins in April to mid-Could and lasts via October whereas August is the wettest month. Heavy rainfall throughout this era causes issues yearly as a result of it destroys infrastructure and is exacerbated by insufficient drainage.
Though flooding is widespread throughout Nigeria’s wet season, now just isn’t the height of the rains, Idris mentioned. “In some states, the rains have solely been there for a month, and but we’re seeing this.”
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