By RITA ILIYA

The Deputy Governor of Niger, Mr Yakubu Garba, has visited victims of the flood disaster in Mokwa community as death tolls rises to over 100.

Garba disclosed the casualty figure in an interview with newsmen during the visit to Mokwa on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 21 person lost their lives and several houses were destroyed following a torrential downpour on Wednesday night.

The affected areas were Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa in Mokwa town, Mokwa Local Government Area of the state.

Garba said that the visit was based on the directive of Gov. Umaru Bago for an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.

He said that over 100 bodies had been recovered, adding that search and rescue operation was still ongoing.

?I have been briefed by officials from NEMA and NSEMA, who have been on ground since the incident occurred for search and rescue operations.

?I was told that over 100 people lost their lives and some are yet to be buried as search and rescue operations are still ongoing,? he said.

Garba, while addressing the victims at the Internally Displaced Camp (IDPs), urged them to exercise patience as the state government was working out modalities to provide relief materials to those affected.

He said that the state government had received relief materials from NEMA, which had been handed over to the council chairman for onward distribution to the victims.

He assured the victims that he would communicate his findings to the governor to secure additional support for those affected.

He, however, cautioned against building structures on waterways and emphasised the need for residents to respect natural water pathways to prevent future disasters.

Also speaking, Mrs Zubaida Umar, Director-General of NEMA, said that officials of the agency were on ground coordinating ongoing search and rescue operation.

Umar said that the agency provided food and non-food items, including rice, blankets, and mats which had been handed over to the state government through the deputy governor to support victims.

She also said that NEMA was working with the Red Cross and Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) to support the affected community.

One of the victims, Anas Usman, told NAN that 17 members of his household lost their lives to the disaster, saying the flood came on Thursday morning after heavy downpour on Wednesday night.

?We were preparing to go to the farm in the morning when our house was suddenly submerged by floods, we did not know where the flood came from.

?The flood submerged our house, causing the structure to collapse, we lost children, women and men, who are family members,? he said. (NAN)

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