The Mbankolo neighborhood, located about 25 kilometers from Yaoundé, was partially damaged by a landslide that was caused by torrential rain that fell overnight on Sunday, October 8 to Monday, October 9.
Thus far, 13 deaths have been officially confirmed.
A dyke in the area burst due to severe rain, according to public broadcaster CRTV.
A local stated, “I haven’t heard of the occurrence.”
“I just arrived here to discover that the man-made lake has definitely burst. I observe this as well as the transportation to hospitals of injured individuals. There are residents of the area that we know and who are still missing.
Daouda Ousmanou, the divisional officer of the Yaoundé district where Mbankolo is located warned that the death toll could still rise.
He added that firefighters were on the scene supervising a search and rescue operation.
Public broadcaster CRTV reported that “around thirty houses had been destroyed”.
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.
Mudslides during the rainy season are frequent in Yaoundé, a hilly city where sometimes precarious dwellings are built.
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.
