Torrential rains devastated the central Nigerian city of Mokwa and killed at least 25 people, emergency services said Thursday amid a search for more bodies.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency says 21 people have lost their lives following a severe rainfall that resulted in a flood disaster in Mokwa Local Government of Niger.
The Director General of the agency, Ibrahim Hussaini, disclosed this to journalists in Minna on Thursday.
He said the incident occurred during a torrential downpour on Wednesday night, causing widespread destruction.
Mr Hussaini said three people were rescued alive, a woman and her two children, and were receiving treatment for wounds and shock at Mokwa General Hospital.
Comment: Update May 31France 24
reports:
Flash floods in central Nigeria kill at least 150 people
Flash floods that ripped through parts of central Nigeria have killed at least 150 people and injured dozens of others, emergency services officials said on Saturday, with the toll expected to rise further.
Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents after torrential rains late on Wednesday through early Thursday washed away and submerged dozens of homes in and around the town of Mokwa, located on the banks of Niger River, in Niger state.
Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, warned on Saturday that the toll could still rise.
The figures shared with AFP Husseini noted a sharp rise from the previous toll of 115 dead, while also showing more than 3,000 people were displaced, 265 houses "completely destroyed" and two bridges washed away.
He said many were still missing, citing a family of 12 where only four members have been accounted for.
"Some bodies were recovered from the debris of collapsed homes," he said, adding that his teams would need excavators to retrieve corpses from under the rubble.
At least 78 people have been hospitalised with injuries, the Red Cross chief for the state, Gideon Adamu, told AFP.
According to the Daily Trust newspaper, thousands of people have been displaced and more than 50 children in an Islamic school were reported missing.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) described it as an "unprecedented flood".
The police and military have been roped in to help with the disaster response.
Mokwa, nearly 380km west of Abuja, is a major meeting point where traders from the south buy beans, onions and other food from farmers in the north.
Update June 1The BBC reports:
More than 700 believed dead in devastating Nigeria floods
The official death toll after deadly floods hit the Nigerian town of Mokwa on Thursday has risen to more than 200, officials say.
Another 500 people are still missing in the town in the central Niger State however, local official Musa Kimboku told the BBC that rescue efforts had ceased because authorities no longer believe anyone could still be found alive.
The floods, said to be worst in the area for 60 years, swept through the Mokwa districts of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa after torrential rains.
In an effort to prevent disease in the area, authorities will soon start to dig out corpses buried underground, Mokwa's district head Muhammadu Aliyu said.
Recounting scenes of catastrophe, local residents told the BBC that they saw their homes and family members get washed away.
Comment: Update May 31
France 24 reports: Update June 1
The BBC reports: