Heavy rainfall is still expected in Yaounde, with “significant risks” of flooding and drowning, warns the Director General of the National Observatory on Climate Change NOCC Joseph Armaté Amougou.
The torrential rains that have been falling for several days in the capital have caused the death of a girl, swept away by the waters on 30 June, reports the national radio. Another is missing, according to the same source. On Thursday, for example, the water rose very quickly, causing flooding in some parts of the city, particularly in the Voirie municipale and Avenue Kennedy areas.
The water came out of the Mingoa and Djoungolo river beds that cross these two places respectively and invaded the streets, as seen in the photos and videos that have been widely shared on social networks since last weekend.
“When the water flows from the Municipal Lake, it enters the Mfoundi canal which was built as part of the first phase of the Yaounde Sanitation Project. The water enters the Mfoundi in a perpendicular way. So, when the water level rises in Mfoundi, the water from the Mingoa River can no longer enter and it gradually rises, leaves its bed and causes what you have observed,” explains Gérard Essi Ntoumba, coordinator of the second phase ofthe Yaounde sanitation project.
Mfoundi canal
Despite the “satisfactory results” obtained in the reduction of flooding in Yaounde following the construction of 17 km of canals on the rivers that drain the city during Phases 1 and 2 of the project, some areas are still exposed to flooding, both in the city centre and in the outskirts, especially downstream of the Mfoundi River, the main outlet of the capital’s rivers.
In December 2021, the African Development Bank (AfDB) granted a loan of US$ 38.55 million to Cameroon to finance the Yaounde Complementary Sustainable Sanitation Project.
This project, which is to be completed in 48 months, is a continuation of yaounde sanitation project. It aims to “significantly reduce” the frequency of flooding in the capital in a context of climate change, while making the necessary adjustments to increase the expected results.
As part of this project, it is planned, for example, to rebuild the gutter opposite the Municipal Roads Department (Avenue Charles Atangana) connecting the Mingoa River canal to the Mfoundi. “This will allow that when the rains come, the waters of the Mfoundi and those of the Mingoa flow together and that, in addition, there can be a phenomenon that prevents the tributary from returning its waters to the main watercourse,” Gérard Essi Ntoumba reported.
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