Nigeria Flood Death Toll Rises to 200, Over 500 Still Missing

The official death toll from last week's floods in Nigeria has risen above 200, according to local authorities. At least 500 people remain missing. The BBC spoke with a local official who reported that rescue and search operations have been halted, as authorities no longer expect to find survivors.

On Thursday, the city of Mokwa in western Nigeria was hit by hours of heavy rainfall. Residents reported that the flooding worsened after a dam in the area collapsed.

To prevent disease outbreaks, authorities will soon begin recovering the victims' bodies, according to the district head of Mokwa. Another official noted that many bodies were swept away by the Niger River.

Nigeria is currently in its rainy season, which lasts from April to October. The country has experienced severe flooding in recent years. Last rainy season, over 2000 people died in Sudan, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad due to floods, according to the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group.

WWA concluded two years ago that climate change has increased the likelihood of heavy rainfall and flooding in West Africa.