…victims cry out for urgent help
Official death toll in Mokwa, Niger State, where floods wreaked havoc on the residents of several villages in the North Central State last week Thursday, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), has risen to 200, while 500 people still missing.
BBC also reported, quoting a local official, Musa Kimboku, that the rescue efforts had ceased because the Authorities no longer believe anyone could still be found alive.
The floods, according to the reports, were the worst in the area for 60 years, sweeping through the Mokwa districts of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa after torrential rains.
Meanwhile, survivors, especially women in Angwan Hausawa, Mokwa, Niger State, have made a desperate appeal to well-meaning Nigerians and the Government for urgent assistance following last week’s devastating flood, which claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
Many victims have been rendered homeless and are currently sleeping under trees with no access to food, clean water, or shelter.
Our correspondent who visited the affected area on Monday, gathered that the flooding occurred at about 7:00 a.m. last week Thursday and lasted until around 4:00 p.m. the same day.
The disaster left several houses completely destroyed, displacing countless families.
Zainab Haruna, a grieving mother, who lost her child in the flood, described the situation as heartbreaking.
“We have nothing left, no food, no money, no clothes, and above all, no roof over our heads. As you can see, we are all outside, sleeping under trees. I haven’t eaten, and that’s the same for many of us here. Everything we owned has been washed away.”
She appealed to the Government and non-governmental organisations to come to their aid. “We are begging the Niger State Government and kind-hearted individuals to assist us. Please, don’t leave us to suffer alone.”
Similarly, Zarah Ibrahim said: “This is the will of God. We never expected it, but we thank God for life. They brought us pap yesterday morning, and since then, we’ve had nothing. We’re starving, and our children are suffering. We need help from philanthropists. We were told some groups are bringing food, but we haven’t seen anything yet.”
In his submission, Usman Jibril, another resident, shared his concerns saying, “we are not happy about what happened, but we thank God we’re alive. We come here during the day and find somewhere else to sleep at night. Yesterday, some people gave us garri three mudu per family. How is that be enough?
We need food urgently because food is life. We don’t want to die of hunger. All our savings, food supplies everything is gone. Even the water sources in our community are now filled with sand.”
The residents, however, called on the Niger State Government, the Federal Government, NGOs, and wealthy individuals to urgently intervene and provide relief.
