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Mokwa Floods Claim Over 200 Lives as Relief Efforts Intensify

With supplies only now reaching survivors, authorities are racing to curb waterborne disease threats from widespread contamination.

FILE - People search for flood victims after heavy rainfall in the market town of Mokwa, north-central Nigeria , Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Usman Salihu Mokwa, File)
Banner image of Mokwa after the flooding, by the Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency via X.
FILE - A boy walks past a flooded area after heavy rainfall in the market town of Mokwa, north-central Nigeria, Saturday May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Usman Salihu Mokwa), File)
A woman stands next to debris from damaged buildings in Mokwa after the Nigerian town was hit by torrential rains, with the resulting flash flooding displacing more than 3,000 people

Overview

  • Over 200 people have died in the May 29 flash floods in Mokwa, Niger State, with hundreds more presumed missing—including many Almajiri Quranic students—and more than 3,000 displaced.
  • After widespread criticism of a slow initial response, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross have begun distributing food, water and essential supplies to survivors in secured batches.
  • Vice President Kashim Shettima has pledged 2 billion naira and trucks of relief commodities to rebuild homes destroyed by the floods.
  • Health authorities including UNICEF warn of a heightened risk of waterborne diseases as floodwaters contaminated local water sources and outbreak prevention efforts intensify.
  • Experts and officials attribute the severity of the disaster to climate-driven extreme rainfall combined with poor drainage systems and unregulated construction that worsened its impact.