Landslide in Akwaya, no Death

The Director of Civil Protection Cabinet at the Ministry of Territorial Administration led a technical team alongside local officials in a visit to the site

The Governor of the South West Region, Bernard Okalia Bilai on Monday August 13 evening, convened a crisis meeting in his office premises, following a landslide that occurred in Kakpenyi quarter of Tinta village, Akwaya Subdivision. The major resolution of the impromptu meeting was the expression of government's determination to assist the victims. As such, measures are underway to provide the local population with food and other basic necessities, especially those injured as a result of the disaster.

Talking to the Divisional Officer of Akwaya, Austin Ayuni Sakah in Buea CT gathered the following. He explained that the quarter head of Kakpenyi in Tinta village sent an envoy to Akwaya Town on Thursday August 2. According to the informant, on Sunday July 29, the villagers heard unusual sounds like gun shots, accompanied by earth tremours. The situation continued till Wednesday August 1 afternoon, when they heard loud explosions from a nearby mountain followed by a heavy flow of rocks and soil down the slopes of the mountain. The descending rubble destroyed everything on its path, burying farms and trees, before ending up in a valley where two rivers (Ohongimbi and Kakpenyi) meet. The debris equally blocked the regular water flow of the two rivers and developing in a lake. The main road from Mamfe to Akwaya through Kakpenyi was completely cut off. As a result, all those using this stretch have to go through Atolo village. Some villagers working on their farms were wounded either from rocks flowing from the mountain or in the course of fleeing from the danger. But no human loss has been registered. The main crops destroyed include cocoa, palms, kola nuts, bush mango, banana, pineapples, and beehives, amongst others.

The Divisional Officer and his close collaborators visited the site the next day, Friday August 3. The only access is by foot, summing to about three hours trek. A meeting was convened in the quarter hall to probe into the matter. As a result, the identification of 21 persons whose farms were destroyed was done as well as that of 23 injured persons needing medical attention. It was also revealed that the explosions were frequent and mostly provoked by rainfall leading to heavy landslides. The affected area is about 500 metres wide and one kilometer long while the air is heavily polluted with the stench of gaz. Kakpenyi has a population of 267 inhabitants with 88 houses and 48 house heads. Some of the frightened population has moved to nearby villages for their safety.

At press time, the Director of Civil Protection in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Nnana Jean Pierre led a technical team to the site on Saturday August 11. An evaluation of the scene revealed it was a landslide and not an eruption as believed by many. Jean Pierre Nnana equally offered financial assistance to the farmers who had lost their farms; and a medical team was stationed in Kakpenyi for at least three weeks to attend to the patients, while measures are underway to ensure the population's safety from subsequent crises. Meanwhile the population has been urged to remain vigilant and avoid treading on the affected areas, till further notice.