Death toll in central Nigeria flooding rises to 88

The death toll in central Nigeria flash floods has risen to at least 88 after rescuers recovered more bodies, an emergency services official said on Friday.

Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents after torrential rains late on Wednesday washed away dozens of homes in the city of Mokwa, drowning residents, with many still missing.

"The death toll is about 88," Hussaini Isah, head of operations for the National Emergency Management Agency in Niger state told journalists, adding that the number is "rising".

Earlier, a Niger state emergency management agency (SEMA) spokesman, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, told AFP he "expected the toll to rise considerably because there are different rescuers at different locations".

An AFP journalist saw emergency services conducting search and rescue operations as residents searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings, as flood waters flowed alongside.

Displaced children played in the flood waters, heightening the possibility of exposure to waterborne diseases, as at least two bodies lay covered in printed cloth and banana leaves.

An emotional woman in a maroon headscarf sat with tears dripping down her face.

Mohammed Tanko, 29, a civil servant, pointed to a house he grew up in, telling reporters, "We lost at least 15 from this house. The property (is) gone. We lost everything".

Fisherman Danjuma Shaba, 35 said he slept rough in a car park.

"I don't have a house to sleep in. My house has already collapsed," said Shaba.

Nigeria's rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year.

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

Scientists have also warned that climate change is already fuelling more extreme weather patterns.

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.