“I watched helplessly as the water washed the family”

Adam Yusuf’s life was translated because he lost nine members of his family in Tiffin Mazz, one of the two communities in his city that suffered from flooding in the north central Nigeria.

Father, 36-year-old, said his wife and newborn baby were among those who flushed out in the flood early Thursday morning in Niger.

“She was the one that aroused me when the floods got and I quickly collected the family and ordered everyone to keep each other. When we went outside, we saw the water everywhere in our living room and connections. They paniced and we turned off.”

His wife and the child have just returned to the city Mokwa the day before, after spending a few weeks after his birth.

“I watched helpingly how the water washed my family. I survived because I could swim. God saved me,” Mr. Adam said.

Local officials say it increased more than 200 on Sunday, which increased dramatically compared to 110 on Friday. There are fears that the number may still increase further.

The mood in the Tiffin Maza community on Saturday was grief, despair and loss.

Scattered clothing, impregnated with mattresses and crushed metal roofs were some of the last remains of what has now been hundreds of destroyed houses.

The structures that still stand are a sharp effect on the flood, with the roofs, washed, or some parts of the buildings are destroyed.

Standing on the blue tile floor, the only thing that indicates where his bedroom once was, Mr. Adam examined the huge empty space that replaced his community.

“I lost everything for this flood. But the most painful is my family. The only precious I have now is this fabric that I have a burden I even gave me my friend.”

He said one relative was found dead and he “resigned with the fate that others would not return to him alive.

A nineteen -year -old high school graduate Muhammad was unworthy because he heard his favorite teacher’s home was washed while the teacher and eight members of his family were inside.

“Two were found dead; one of them was his child. My teacher, his second child, his sister and four more relatives were still missing. The building fell on a wife who was not in the house with them, and she died instantly.”

Mr. Mohammed also lost his family, remembering the uncle who died in the catastrophe.

“Uncle Musa was a very good friend of my deceased. He cared for me because my father died in 2023. He taught me to appreciate education and always told me to do right.

“Whenever I think about him, tears were always rolled on my cheeks. I have not been able to sleep since the incident happened,” Mr. Mohammed said.

Now the water has retreated, and the residents gathered on Saturday to express their condolences to the victims, as well as to handle their search efforts.

Some residents reported BBC News that at least 7 feet (2.1 m) had at least 7 feet in some parts of the community.

There was a strong odor around Tiffin MAZ, and the residents believe that it was proof that the corpses that washed out the floods under the thick dirt.

They are working to find them and give a dead decent burial as they did for others since Thursday.

“I have never seen such floods in my life, but I am grateful that my family survived it,” said 65-year-old Ramos Suleiman.

Ms Suleiman’s house was completely destroyed, which made her homeless family.

She said that 100 children who slept in the chicken school in two quarters from her home were “washed away”.

“It was a painful spectacle for me. The children were crying for help, but no one could do anything. When their shouts became louder, their building drowned and flowed.”

Her son Saliu remained homeless and broke.

“I lost at least $ 1,500 on the flood. It was the revenue from the sale of my farm the previous day. I thought I came back to the room to get it, but the water pressure scared me,” he said.

“I also lost eleven bags of nuts and seven bags of beans. My wife and I couldn’t choose from our room. But I am grateful that we did it in time. There were so many dead bodies in the water.”

He has had nightmares since then, he said.

“I was injured.”

Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the dam has crashed, which has aggravated the influence of recent floods as widely reported.

The head of the district Mokwa, Alhaj Muhammad Shaba, pointed to the BBC that there is a “reservoir” in the area, which can drink water “at any time, it is raining”, but it added that the magnitude of the flood is excessive.

Residents told BBC News that they believed that the floods were not caused by the heavy rainfall they survived.

“The rain could not lead to the flood because it was noisy and there was no water anywhere. I was on the street, and suddenly I saw the water that fell at high speed and scattered everything on its way,” said Mr. Muhammad.

Ms Suleiman said: “When I woke up with prayers, I opened the door and looked out and didn’t see the water. In a few minutes I started to hear people shout. We don’t know where it came from. His source is a mystery.”

“For the people who said the floods as a result of the rain, they are lying. The rain stopped before the floods began. No one knows the reasons for this flood, it’s just from God,” Mr. Adam said.

Deputy Local Chairman Mokwa Musa Alhaji Aliy Kimbok also rejected the rain.

The National Emergency Agency said the victims were being treated, while the displaced victims were taken to the relocation camp and distributed assistance materials.

The country’s meteorological agency predicted that this year in Central Nigeria in Central Nigeria will last up to 200 days, while it can linger for a longer period in the predominantly southern states.

In early May, the Federal Government launched a flooding campaign to teach citizens at risk of flooding.

Thirty of 36 West Africa are at risk of floods and one of them is at risk.

Because the victims produce what they can from the ruins of their homes to start a new life, those who have lost their loved ones, like Mr. Adam, said they would never be able to cure, although they have accepted their destiny.