Cameroon: Excessive Rain, Causes Landslide claims 13 Lives

Torrential rain on the night of Sunday, October 8th, to Monday, October 9th, caused a landslide that resulted in the destruction of parts of the Mbankolo neighborhood, located approximately 25 km from Yaoundé.
As of now, 13 people have been confirmed dead.

According to the public broadcaster CRTV, the heavy rain caused a dyke in the neighborhood to break.

“I wasn’t aware of the incident,” said one resident.
“I rushed here only to witness the rupture of the artificial lake. I saw injured individuals being evacuated and taken to the hospital. There are still people we know who live in the neighborhood that we haven’t been able to account for.

Daouda Ousmanou, the divisional officer of the Yaoundé district where Mbankolo is situated, warned that the number of casualties could increase.
He mentioned that firefighters were present at the scene overseeing a search and rescue operation.
CRTV reported that “approximately thirty houses had been destroyed.

Ernest Zebaze, a 24-year-old university student, identified the bodies of his mother and two siblings. Zebaze stated, “I am still searching for my father who was in the house during the heavy rainfall.

The bodies of the victims have been transported to a morgue, while the injured have been rushed to hospitals. The Yaoundé General Hospital reported receiving 12 injured individuals, including a 7-year-old girl.
Mudslides are common during the rainy season in Yaoundé, a city with hilly terrain where sometimes unstable dwellings are constructed.

Authorities in Cameroon have been demolishing houses in high-risk areas prone to floods and landslides. Many of the buildings that collapsed on Sunday had already been marked for demolition.