Around 700 still missing after deadly central Nigeria floods

More than 700 people are still missing following flash floods that struck central Nigeria's Niger state last month killing at least 200 people, officials have said.

Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents three weeks after the inundation in and around the town, more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) east of the Nigerian capital Abuja.

"Over 700 persons are still missing and we are yet to ascertain where they are," Yakubu Garba, Niger state deputy governor said in a statement from his office.

From the latest tally, 207 bodies were recovered from the floods which destroyed 400 homes and displaced more than 3,000 residents, Garba said.

Niger state emergency management agency SEMA confirmed the 207 death toll, saying they were still working to ascertain the numbers of missing.

Nigeria's rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year. Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the West African country.

Scientists have also warned that climate change is already fuelling more extreme weather patterns. In Nigeria, the floods are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has warned of possible flash floods across most of Nigeria's 36 states in this rainy season.

In 2024, more than 300 people were killed and over a million displaced in at least 34 out of Nigeria's 36 states, making it one of the country's worst flood seasons in decades, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs agency OCHA.

___

Source: TRT