Douala: Wouri SDO warns of imminent floods, landslides as rains intensify.

The information is contained in a release issued Monday July 3. In the note, the administrator cautioned the population to be on the watch out.

According to the administrator, metrology reports have indicated the possibility of torrential rains in the months of July, August and September. The rains, the official added, might come with floods and landslides in Wouri Division and its environs.

Mboutou in his release urged the population to avoid extremely fragile ecological areas. The SDO further recommended that people should quit marshy areas for areas that are not exposed to flood. 

The SDO has also advised the population to stop blocking waterways that could further worsen the situation in case of heavy rains. According to the administrative authority, the heavy rains will affect neighbourhoods across his unit of command and beyond.

Torrential rains, it should be said, have in the past  months left many homeless and claimed  lives  in places such as Buea, Muntengene, Limbe and Kumba all in the  South  West regions. 

Similar incidents not unconnected to climate change and other environmental constraints have been witnessed in the Northern Regions.

Experts have increasingly linked the disasters to poor construction as well as the non-respect of drainage routes. 

In the past, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, has through the Department of Civil Protection of MINAT, been on the field to assist the population in distress.

The warning in Wouri which covers all of Douala, many have said, means government must get to work without delay, to avoid a situation that could result in health challenges like cholera outbreak.