The search and rescue operations team at the scene of the flood disaster in Mokwa, Niger state said the death toll has hit 115 with more bodies been recovered.

Director General of the state emergency Management agency, Abdullahi Baba Arah confirmed this to AFP through the agency’s Public Relations Officer, Ibrahim Hussain.

Abdullahi said, contrary to the figures being bandied on some media outlets, “the figure as it stands now is that we have 115 bodies recovered, but the search and rescue is ongoing.”

“We have so far recovered 115 bodies and more are expected to be recovered because the flood came from far distance and washed people into the River Niger. Downstream, bodies are still being recovered,” Ibrahim Audu Husseini said. “So, the toll keeps rising”.

Read Also: NiMet warns of heavy rainfall, flash floods across 15 states including FCT

Flooding after torrential rains late on Wednesday washed away more than 50 homes in the city.

Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents on Friday.

“We expect the toll to rise considerably because there are different rescuers at different locations,” Husseini said.

Recalls that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday.

In 2024, more than 1,200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in at least 31 out of Nigeria’s 36 states, making it one of the country’s worst floods in decades, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.