Southern Cameroons: Deadly floods in Fako point to a looming climate emergency ⁰

Flash floods triggered by sudden rains swept through the Likomba-Mutengene main road in Fako Division in the early hours of Saturday. The Saturday disaster came with no warning.

“The local Likomba River was flooding with massive boulders. The trees were falling! It was terrifying” Cameroon Concord News Buea Bureau Chief said.

Likomba and Mutengene are in the mountainous Fako Division, where deadly cascade of rock, debris and water regularly wreak havoc.

Many are attempting to understand what caused the avalanche. But the massive flooding illustrates the risks of development in an area vulnerable to the accelerated effects of climate change.

An Environmentalist contacted by Cameroon Concord News say the construction of houses and building development works all over Fako Division have put the inhabitants in a precarious position.

Cameroon government military, paramilitary and police as well as disaster management officials were conspicuously absent as passengers in vehicles dug through mud, sand and rocks that swamped the Likomba-Mutengene road. Several passenger vehicles were on the road when the rains struck.

By Toto Roland Motuba