Death Toll Rises In Mokwa Flood Incident
…100 Bodies Recovered, 77 Buried
The death toll arising from the massive rainfall- triggered flood in Kpege area of Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, has risen to more than 100.
The Wednesday night deluge created a massive flood that mangled buildings and other valuables, and, according to emergency services officials, took in excess of 100 human lives.
The Deputy Governor of the state, Yakubu Garba, who was at the site of the disaster on Friday, said that from the briefs he had received from officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), the death toll had exceeded the 100 mark, while many more were still missing.
The Deputy Governor, who also visited the shelter for those displaced by the flood at the Internally -Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, lamented the calamity, but urged the IDPs to be patient as the state government was already distributing relief materials to the victims.
He confirmed that the relief materials from NEMA has been handed over to the Chairman of the local government.
NEMA Director -General, Mrs Zubaida Umar, who was visiting the scene, lamented the scale of the disaster, but assured that officials of the agency, in collaboration with others, were involved in the search and rescue operations.
The Director- General of NSEMA, Baba- Arah, decried the scale of the flood and its effects as unprecedented, saying the bodies of many more victims might still be found as the search and rescue operations continued.
One of the victims, Anas Usman, said they were preparing for the farm in the morning when the flood suddenly surged, sweeping away houses, property and precious human lives.
The flood reportedly swept away more 50 houses and more than 100 human lives.
A total of 77 recovered bodies had been buried as of Friday, with some yet to be interred, while the search for the more than 100 other missing persons continued on Friday night.
