Flash foods that ripped through parts of central Nigeria’s state of Niger have killed at 115, people an emergency services official said on Friday, saying the toll is expected to rise.

“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, Niger SEMA spokesman told AFP. “So, the toll keeps rising”.

Flooding after torrential rains late on Wednesday washed away more than 50 homes in the city of Mokwa in central Niger, drowning residents with many missing, according to the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

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

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

Nigeria’s rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year. Scientists warn that climate change is already fuelling more extreme weather patterns.

Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the West African country.

In Nigeria, the floods are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways, and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency 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.