Ndian: Bamusso mayor appeals for gov’t assistance to assuage floods.

The appeal comes after floods overwhelmed localities in Bamusso, particularly in Bekumu, leaving most residents unable to go about their activities.

In an interview granted the State media, CRTV, Mayor Meme said without urgent government assistance, it will be difficult for Bamusso to come out of the damages caused by the floods.

“…We are appealing that government should come to our aid and construct an embankment and if possible, do some backfilling as the water has encroached the land, creating difficulties for the population…,” Mayor Meme told the CRTV.

He added that such intervention from the State, must be done without delay, to avoid a disaster in Bamusso. Meme lamented that some people have abandoned their homes and are living in precarious conditions.

The mayor recounted that, heavy rains on Monday March 10, resulted in water entering Bekumu village in particular, from the front and the back. He added that the village of Bekumu remains the most affected of communities in the Bamusso municipality following the floods. 

The incident, he said, frustrated even church services, as most worshippers could not go to church. 

Motoma Daniel, a resident of Bekumu, told CRTV that without measures from the State to reverse the situation, the community risks disappearing. Motoma said Bekumu was once a vibrant fishing community that attracted people from different African countries but with the floods, the village is in bad shape.

“We have never had such floods in the village…we can only blame this incident on climate change. We were expecting heavy rains from March 15. Here we are with this amount of water in our houses,” Motoma said.

To note that the happening in Bamusso comes days after the National Observatory on Climate Change, NOCC, released a report predicting heavy rains in five of the country’s 10 Regions. 

Though the South West was not among the Regions cited in the report, NOCC, had advised the population to watch out for heavy downpour that could surpass levels recorded over in the last fifty years.

Floods and thunderstorms resulting in destructions have become common in recent years across the country. 

On Friday March 8, heavy rains and storm in Yaounde claimed at least one life and left several schools, homes and the office of the Divisional Officer, DO of Yaounde III, without a roof.

 In March 2023, the cities of Douala in the Littoral Region, Buea and Limbe in Fako Division and Kumba in Meme Division, all in the South West Regions, recorded similar floods.