At least 15 people were killed and more than 50 were injured in floods set off by heavy rains in Cameroon’s capital, authorities said on Monday as rescuers searched for those missing following the deluge the previous day.
The rains unleashed floodwaters in the district of Yaounde 2 of the country’s capital on Sunday, sweeping away buildings and reducing many to rubble. Rescue workers are still digging through the mud and rubble “with the hope of saving lives,” Daouda Ousmanou, the top government official in the district, said Monday.
Floodings have been frequent in Cameroon in recent years, with experts often blaming climate change, and their impact has been exacerbated by shoddy construction that often circumvents regulations.
In the city’s Mbankolo neighbourhood, at least 30 houses were swept away while several collapsed on residents inside, Ousmanou said. Others drowned as they were swept away by floodwaters. Ernest Zebaze, a 24-year-old university student said he identified the bodies of his mother and two siblings. “I am still looking for my father who was in the house during the downpour,” Zebaze said.
Bodies of the victims have been laid out at a morgue while the injured were rushed to hospitals. The Yaounde General Hospital said it received 12 injured, including a 7-year-old girl. Authorities in Cameroon have been demolishing houses in high-risk zones susceptible to floods and landslides. Many of the buildings that collapsed on Sunday had been marked for demolition.