The aftermath of a late Wednesday rainfall in which areas in the Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State were affected has left 12 members of a family dead and several almajiri children missing.

Several houses were also destroyed during the rainfall after the flood occurred.

It was gathered that many of the victims of the incident, believed to be caused by a torrential downpour on Wednesday night, were children and women.

The state’s emergency management unit, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), confirmed 21 dead, but residents said the casualty figure could be over 60.

Hajiya Hassana, a resident of Mokwa, said that she lost 12 members of her family to the flood, and she also said that her cousin’s Quranic school lost several children to the flood, too.

“In my brother’s house, there were 13 in number, and only one person survived and is currently at the hospital.

“Many Almajirai pupils in a Quranic school operated by our cousin also died. Nobody survived in that house, and the entire building was submerged. If you go there now, you won’t know if they ever built a house there.

“There is a one-storey building which was a residential building. It was completely submerged. As I speak with you, nobody has ascertained the number of people in the rubble of that building,” she narrated.

Alhaji Baba Adamu, a resident of Tiffin Maza community, said that the bodies of two members of his family had been recovered, while three others were still missing.

The chairman of Mokwa Local Government Area, Jibril Abdullahi Muregi, said 15 bodies had been recovered as of 12 noon.

He said the displaced persons were being sheltered in public primary schools in Mokwa.

“A lot of lives have been lost. So far, 15 bodies have been recovered, and a lot of properties have been destroyed.

“The flood was a result of the rainfall yesterday (Wednesday). It was caused by the excess water which flowed from the Zugurma axis, though Mokwa town has erosion challenges.

“The victims are in dire need of intervention because currently, some of them have been camped in public primary schools. We also need medical assistance for the victims because some of them have been affected psychologically and by environmental pollution,” Muregi said.