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At least 20 people were killed after a flood submerged many houses in Mokwa, a commercial town in Niger State, on Thursday.
The flood followed a midnight downpour that lasted for more than five hours.
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Residents who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES blamed the flood on the collapse of a small dam around New Bussa, a neighbouring town where the Kainji Lake Dam is located.
More than 20 bodies, including those of minors and women, have been recovered, a resident,t Umar Yunus, said.
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Our reporter saw gory pictures and footage of the recovered bodies.
“Many of those bodies were discovered around nearby bushes in Mokwa,” said Mr Yunusa. “Many people are still missing.”
“This is a sad event and heavy flood that I haven’t witnessed before,” he wailed.
Multiple sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the Ilorin-Mokwa highway was forced to close due to the incident.
Another resident who wished not to be named for the gravity of his opinion said the affected houses lacked proper drainage.
“The disaster mostly affected houses and areas that do not have proper drainage systems,” he said, noting that community members were still making efforts to rescue victims and recover more bodies believed to have been swept into the forest.
Council chairman mourns
The Chairman of Mokwa Local Government Area, Jibril Muregi, in a statement by his media aide, Abdullahi Abubakar, extended his “heartfelt condolences to all families affected by the tragic flood.”
Mr Muregi lamented that the natural disaster has led to the unfortunate loss of lives, destruction of homes, and displacement of several residents.
Mr Muregi urged the relevant authorities to step in and help those affected by the incident.
“In the wake of this disaster, we urgently call on the Niger State Government, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, and the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), to deploy immediate relief materials and humanitarian assistance to the affected areas,” he said.
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“We also use this medium to appeal to the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project to expedite the long-overdue process of awarding and commencing the construction of waterways in Mokwa.
“This critical infrastructure is essential to mitigating future flood risks and protecting lives and property,” Mr Muregi added.
