Bamenda floods kill animals, birds

The damage was enormous when on Sunday, August 2, 2015, heavy rains hit the Bamenda neighborhoods of Mulang, Below Foncha and Ntasin in Bamenda II and III Subdivisions.

The result was floods caused by overflowing river banks. The floods that flooded the mainly marshy areas buried and carried away goats, poultry, destroyed documents and household equipment.

Inhabitants who appear at loss, spent Monday August 3 clearing their homes of flood waters and counting the damage, some of which included the death of as many as over 10 goats, sheep and fowls. Among the affected victims are the families of Irene Djadzeka, Brenda Fobasso, Emeline Binir, Atonwi Ajongwen and Ngwa Nazarius.

From the look of things, the affected neighbourhoods are forbidden for habitation but the population growth of metropolitan Bamenda pushed some to settle there, claiming that they have building permits to show.

Meanwhile, Ndumu Nji Vincent, the Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, blames the floods on the occupation or risky areas by the population that had been duly served quit notices. He told Cameroon Tribune that since the landslides of 2009 in Bamenda, inhabitants of risky areas were served quit notices. He however admitted that it requires some institutional support to relocate them.

The Government Delegate said the City Council has a long-term plan to reclaim and develop the marshy areas of Mulang, Below Foncha and Ntasin into a commercial centre and tourist site with a municipal lake, a five-hectare park and a 2.5 km highway linking Ngen Junction and Mulang.