Floods Threaten Homes in Ngangue and Bonapriso

The return of heavy rains last week-end sends a negative signal to most residents.

Several homes in Bonapriso and Ngangue are being threatened with floods following persistent rainfall over the week-end. Flood water is already inundating streets around "Chefferie" Bonapriso, where construction work over a major gutter has stopped and footpaths are completely submerged. Water collecting in a large gutter -- approximately 500 metres long -- from several small ditches from the two neighbourhoods again began overflowing into homes. It also threatens commuting within and across the area. Residents have been piling up sandbags but are also calling for more to be done to help them.

To most residents in Bonapriso and Ngangue, flooding has been a bane. Heavy rain splashed through the economic capital as early as 3:00 am during which violent winds blew off house tops and pulled down trees, allowing rain to fall into homes. As it went across several other neighbourhoods in Douala, several Ngangue residents launched a search for parts and pieces of their roofs, sometimes recovering them several kilometres away from their homes. Kingue Jacques, who lives in Ngangue, found roofing sheets blown off his house as far as two kilometres away in Bonapriso.

Following last week-end's series of incidents, every little drop of rain has had to prompt most at-risk residents to rush home even before normal work day battling to prevent flooding and prevent property destruction.

For close to a decade now, ink and saliva have constantly dripped following a clear demonstration of inaction by the Douala City Council (DCC) against illegal construction of homes on and across large gutters in the area. In response, some efforts were made to construct a little portion of the gutter not even the affected area, thus prompting many unentertained questions.

Until last three months, an individual took upon himself the task to construct the remaining portion of the gutter. Nevertheless, work soon halted following huge investment demands from the project. Such efforts, according to two quarter heads, still needs DCC support to demolish homes on the gutter. "Avoiding it will mean not just allowing a large portion of residents in constant economic brunt but training them to mistrust Council authorities who depend on them for taxes from their businesses," one of the quarters, who asked not to be named, revealed.