The Islamic teacher, clutching only the threadbare clothes he escaped with, started shouting the names of the pupils he housed and might never see again. Some pupils tried to escape with him through the back of the house, which also doubled as the school. But that attempt quickly turned perilous. The tightly packed layout of the neighbourhood, combined with the absence of a proper drainage system, made the flood water quickly rise and surge through the maze of homes with violent force, leaving no clear path to safety. In the chaos, he could only watch helplessly as the water overwhelmed some of the children, sweeping them away.

Mokwa, nearly 380 kilometres (236 miles) west of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, and a major trading and transportation hub where northern farmers and southern traders meet, has become a scene of mass mourning after torrents of rainfall early last Thursday unleashed devastating flooding. Officially, the fatality count from the sudden and intense flood that built rapidly within five hours has crossed 200. Locals say the actual number could be far higher, with more than a thousand still missing. Many were Almajiri, the poor boys sent far from their families to study the Quran under the care of Islamic teachers, living in packed, informal schools and often a common sight in northern Nigerian urban centres where they roam the streets for alms and food. “I lost my brother while he tried to save the children” Haruna Yusuf lost 14 relatives – apart from 12 Almajiri children he helped his father teach – to the flood. Clutching a rosary, he prayed for them. (Jamaica Gleaner)