Hundreds dead and missing as floods devastate Nigeria, India and China

Hundreds dead and missing as floods devastate Nigeria, India and China
by AFP Staff Writers
Kano, Nigeria (AFP) June 18, 2025

More than 700 people were still missing following flash floods that struck central Nigeria's Niger state last month killing at least 200 people, the state government said Wednesday.

Late last month flash floods swept through the town of Mokwa after hours-long torrential rains, destroying homes and killing more than 200 residents, according to emergency agencies.

Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents three weeks after the inundation in and around the town, more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) east of Nigerian capital Abuja.

"Over 700 persons are still missing and we are yet to ascertain where they are," Yakubu Garba, Niger state deputy governor said in a statement from his office.

From the latest tally, 207 bodies were recovered from the floods which destroyed 400 homes and displaced more than 3,000 residents, Garba said.

Niger state emergency management agency SEMA confirmed the 207 death toll, saying they were still working to ascertain the numbers of missing.

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 has warned of possible flash floods across most of Nigeria's 36 states in this rainy season.

In 2024, more than 300 people were killed and over a million displaced in at least 34 out of Nigeria's 36 states, making it one of the country's worst flood seasons in decades, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs agency OCHA.

At least 27 dead as rains lash west India state
Ahmedabad, India (AFP) June 18, 2025 - At least 27 people have died in three days of torrential rains which have lashed parts of India's western Gujarat, state officials said Wednesday.

Disaster response teams have been deployed to rescue dozens of people in the state, where residents are bracing for more heavy monsoon rainfall.

"Deaths in rain-related incidents in Gujarat rose to 27 on Wednesday, with nine more deaths reported during the day," the state government said in a statement.

The figure raises an earlier toll of 18, with most of the latest deaths caused by drowning, the government said.

The worst-hit areas included Palitana and Jesar towns, which on Tuesday registered 867 millimetres (34 inches) of rain over the past 24 hours.

State relief commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said Tuesday the first 18 deaths recorded were the result of storms, lightning strikes, and structural collapses due to rough weather.

"The state is fully geared to handle the situation, and inter-departmental coordination is being intensified to ensure swift relief and rescue operations," Pandey said.

Those rescued included 18 farm labourers who were trapped in mango orchards in the Gadhada area, and 22 people in the Surendranagar district where waters from an overflowing river gushed into their homes.

India's annual monsoon season from June to September offers respite from the intense summer heat and is crucial for replenishing water supplies.

But scores of people die each year during the rainy season due to flash floods and landslides across India, a country of 1.4 billion people.

Thousands evacuated as severe flooding hits southern China
Beijing (AFP) June 18, 2025 - Nearly 70,000 people in southern China have been evacuated after heavy flooding caused by Typhoon Wutip, Chinese state media reported Wednesday.

Vast areas of Zhaoqing city in Guangdong province were submerged, with floodwaters inundating shopfronts and covering roads, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.

Rescuers pushed stranded cars out of the water and used dinghies to transport residents to safety.

Other images showed rescuers wading through water while carrying stranded people on their backs.

The flooding had affected 183,000 residents in Zhaoqing's Huaiji county, with the city mobilising more than 10,000 rescue personnel, state media outlet Xinhua reported.

The flooding affected much of Guangdong province and the neighbouring Guangxi region.

Footage from CCTV filmed on Tuesday showed rescuers in Guangxi dragging a rubber boat crammed with people through knee-deep water as heavy rain continued to fall.

Typhoon Wutip, China's first typhoon of the year, made landfall on the island province of Hainan last Friday, before moving to Guangdong on Saturday.

It brought winds gusting up to 128 kilometres per hour (80 miles per hour) before weakening to a severe tropical storm at the weekend.

Even as its severity subsided, the storm has continued to bring heavy rain to southern China and Zhejiang province in the east, where authorities issued an emergency response notice for flooding risks.

Rainfall in some areas had surpassed 100 millimetres, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

Authorities in Vietnam said on Monday that seven people had died in the country after heavy rains and flooding caused by Wutip.

China has endured spates of extreme weather events from searing heat and drought to downpours and floods for several summers running.

The country is the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter but also a renewable energy powerhouse, seeking to cut carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2060.

Torrential rains last August, triggered by Typhoon Gaemi, which moved from the Philippines and Taiwan to make landfall in eastern China, killed at least 30 people and left dozens missing.