FLOODS CAUSED BY HEAVY RAIN CAUSE DISRUPTION AND DESTRUCTION IN FAKO DIVISION

By Moki S. Mokondo in Buea for Fako Mount Fako News Centre
16 July 2012

The rainy season has left its mark in some communities in Fako Division in the South West Region of Cameroon. Inhabitants in some neighbourhoods in Buea, Limbe and along the Tiko-Douala highway were victims of floods on Saturday and Sunday 14th and 15th July, 2012, respectively.

Traffic along the Tiko-Douala road was interrupted for long hours on Saturday 14 July , 2012, around the Misseleleh market where the road was flooded. Although deviations have been made by the sides of the road, travellers with low vehicles have to still alight on either side where there are floods and then trek to the opposite side before taking another vehicle to continue their journey.

Along the Mutengene-Limbe road, a small stream around Moliwe over-flooded its banks and emptied its content on the highway thereby blocking the road. A vehicle with passengers is reported to have been forced off the highway on Saturday 14 July, 2012, by fast running water when the driver tried to force his way through.

In Buea, some homes around the Razel Street were flooded the night of Saturday 14 July, 2012, after heavy downpour. Inhabitants spent a sleepless night working all night long to create drainages to let water off their homes and neighbourhoods. In some cases, walls of some concrete fences had to be demolished to enable water drain out of residential areas. Many ceremonies scheduled within this period have also been interrupted due to the heavy rain fall.
The rain that began on the evening of Friday 13 July, 2012, continued without seizing till Sunday July 15, 2012, and only gave way on Monday 16 July, 2012. In some residential areas, people have constructed houses on dry waterbeds thereby blocking water passages and as a result, their homes were flooded.