At least two persons have died in Buea, the capital of Cameroon’s Southwest region, as a result of flash floods brought on by torrential rainfall.
The mayor of Buea Council, David Mafani Namange, said several hours of intense rain on Saturday washed away automobiles and other debris and flooded the basement and ground floors of several houses, converting roads into rivers and causing the flood.
“Two corpses were recovered on Saturday. The material damage is quite huge. The women in the market have lost all their goods,” Namange told Xinhua over the phone early Sunday while evaluating the damage caused by “the unprecedented” flood.
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At least 10 people were receiving treatment in hospitals in the town after sustaining injuries from the disaster.
“The flood caused my store to collapse on me. I was covered in the mud and water and it’s only through a miracle that I struggled to come out of there alive,” Esther Doru who was receiving treatment in hospital told Xinhua.
Namange said the council will take appropriate measures to avoid future flood which is mostly caused by poor construction of houses.
“The natural waterway is too small because of haphazard construction. People just build houses on the waterway and this is one of the major causes of the tragedy,” Namange said.
Story adapted from Azernews
