The Federal Government has attributed the recent flood in Mokwa town, Niger State, to heavy rainfall caused by extreme weather conditions and climate change, as well as unregulated buildings, construction activities, and poor drainage infrastructure.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev, stated this while reacting to the situation of flashfloods that hit Mokwa, a market town located in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the minister, the dams did not collapse during recent flooding. He, instead, attributed the overflow to climate change and unusually heavy rainfall.
He also said a team of technical experts from the ministry and various agencies were currently assessing the damage and working on solutions.
The minister urged state governments and stakeholders to follow early warning systems and implement preventive actions to reduce future flooding.
Mokwa is a key meeting and transit point for traders from the south and food growers in the north. It is about 350km (217 miles) by road east of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
More than 200 bodies have been recovered from the town in the last few days after flash floods hit the area. Thousands of people have also been displaced by the floods.
