Flood kills at least two in southwestern Cameroon

 

At least two people have been killed after torrential rains triggered flash floods in Buea, the chief town of Cameroon's Southwest region, local authorities said Sunday.

According to David Mafani Namange, mayor of Buea council, the flood was triggered by several hours of heavy rain Saturday which carried away cars and debris and inundated the basement and ground floors of some buildings, turning roads into rivers.

"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.

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.

xinhua