Solomon Tembang Mforgham, AfricaNews Reporter in Yaoundé, Cameroon
More and more people in the north of Cameroon are being displaced by unending floods. The number of people displaced has risen to over 30,000 as torrential rains continue to submerge riverbeds and surrounding settlements in a part of the country noted for its aridity.
The floods have affected over 90,000 people and at least 30 have been declared dead since September. Thousands of houses have been completely wiped out across the North and far North regions of Cameroon.
The number of victims in the Far North grew quickly over the past several days from 10,000 at the weekend to more than 31,000. Kousseri on the border with Chad is the hardest hit with more than 9,000 people left homeless by the overflowing of River Logone, which is the source of abundant flood water across most of Logone and Chari division.
Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Rene Sadi said, he was “shocked by what I saw”, when he visited the affected areas recently. He promised government action to support victims and control further damage in the region.
“The government has decided to do whatever it would take to find a sustainable solution to this problem,” the minister said.
There are concerns that the situation could worsen. Experts have warned that a dyke built on the Logone in 1978 could soon break up under the mounting weight of water. Rains have also continued in spite of the fact that this should be the dry season.
The government and aide agencies have been battling with the growing humanitarian crisis. President Paul Biya made a grant of FCFA 1.5 billion to victims and promised new road infrastructure during a visit in September. The UN system in Cameroon has also been providing assistance, including tents to house some of the people left homeless.
Farmlands and livestock have all been washed away and there are fears that the homelessness would give way to famine and extend the crises by several years. Health workers have also warned that broken sanitary infrastructure could lead to disease outbreak, especially cholera which claimed thousands of lives in the regions between 2010 and early 2012.
It is the worst flood in Cameroon in about 60 years. Other parts of the country, including the East and North West regions have also suffered less severe flooding in a year that the rains have been unusually heavy and persistent.
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