Abuja, Nigeria (AP) – At least 88 people were confirmed after the floods overwhelmed Mokwa, a Nigerian state market in Niger, said an official on Thursday.
Husseini Isah, head of the Minna, capital of Niger’s state operations office, said many others were still in danger, with rescue efforts in progress on Friday. According to previous reports, at least 20 are dead.
“The number continues to increase,” Isah told the Associated Press. “But during the last count, 88 bodies were recovered.”
The floods were launched by torrential rains that lasted several hours. According to local reports citing residents and local government officials, a collapse dam in a neighboring city has worsened the situation.
Mokwa is a major meeting point for merchants of southern producers and food in the north of the country.
In similar phase last September, torrential rains and a collapse of the dam in northeast Nigeria caused serious floods, making at least 30 people who died and moving millions, aggravating the humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Nigeria often faces seasonal floods, in particular an impact on the communities along the banks of the rivers of Niger and Benue.
