内容摘要：has pushed what remains of its pre-war population of more than two million to the point of famine, international agencies, including the United Nations, have warned.

has pushed what remains of its pre-war population of more than two million to the point of famine, international agencies, including the United Nations, have warned.

President Bola Tinubu extended his condolences overnight and said search-and-rescue operations were ongoing with the support of Nigeria’s security forces.“Relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay,” he wrote in a post on social media.

“We lost everything, the families. We don’t have anywhere else to go, the property has gone,” Mohammed Tanko, a local, told Al Jazeera. “We lost at least 15 from this house.”Another survivor said: “I escaped with only my nightdress. Right now, I can’t even identify where our home used to be.”“The grim task of recovering bodies and what little the residents and victims of this disaster can is what’s been going on since we arrived here in the early afternoon,” said Idris, standing in front of a dilapidated house as children and adults alike dig for belongings and bodies.

“When we arrived here, we were told by locals that when the floodwaters started coming in Mokwa, more bodies were flowing in from more villages upstream and so this used to be where homes were. Several homes, over 300 of them, were washed away or completely destroyed by the flood waters,” said Idris, as clothes and residents’ other belongings lied scattered in piles across the ground.Residents believe that the floods may have been caused by “a bigger problem upstream, maybe a dam burst, but up to now officials are not confirming that”, said Idris. “But the amount of water that came into this community is so much that nobody had any time to prepare to evacuate.”

Meteorologists warn that more rain is expected in the coming days, raising fears of further flooding across the region.

Flooding is a regular threat during Nigeria’s six-month rainy season, but experts say the frequency and severity of these disasters are increasing due toHer mother was introduced to the church by a neighbour who was originally from Migori, Achieng said.

“Initially, she had gone to seek healing from a backache that had troubled her for years,” said the 43-year-old, explaining that the church offered promises of health.The family initially kept in touch with their mother, asking when she would come home after being healed. She kept making promises to return, but never did. Achieng tried to convince her mother to leave the place, she said, but her attempts were in vain.

“At some point, she stopped talking to us, and when my younger brother and I went to inquire how she was doing, we were sent away from the church and told that unless we were willing to join the church, we were not welcome in there,” she said.After the raid last month, Achieng learned her mother was among those rescued but says she does not want anything to do with her family.