Understanding Douala’s recurrent floods

Disorderly construction, low-lying nature of the city, absence of regular rehabilitation and drainage of gullies, etc, are to blame.

Flooding is perceived as normal by Douala residents who live in constant physical and emotional threats with the return of persistent rains since two weeks.

Yet, living in swamps, risk zones and slums, though unlawful, seems most preferred by urban poor in Douala. Squatter settlements such as Mambanda, “Bois des Singes”, Missoke, Ngangue, “Petit Paris” in Bonapriso, and other flood-prone areas of the economic capital, are nothing short of volatile sources of fear, especially with every drop of rain.

Most people see their fears as logical consequence of a violent storm that thrashed across several neighbourhoods on June 19, 2015. Similarly, in 2014, another storm hit the New Bell, Ngangue and Bonapriso neighbourhoods, obliging residents to stay up till dawn in order to flush out water from their homes. Worse still, foundations of most homes have been weakened and living in them has become risky.

Considering that meteorologists forecast more rainstorms in the days ahead, worries by squatter residents is sequel to damages recorded over the weekend and past years. Along with the huge economic loss and hindered movements prompted by the floods, the deaths of over four people in the northern parts of Douala has brought back to memory the havoc caused by past floods.

Two children in Ngangue, as well as an elderly man in New Bell and one or two other children in other neighbourhoods, died between 2013 and 2014. Until today, some of the bodies are yet to be found.

Didier Yimkoua, an environmentalist, attributes flooding in Douala to many factors, including deforestation along the Wouri Estuary and poor town planning. “The absence of mangroves doesn’t only cause changes in climate, but also allows the river to flood neighbourhoods like “Bois des Singes”, Deido “Plage”, and so on. More so, Douala is a low-lying plain with the water table just nearby, and when it rains heavily, there is flooding,” he explained.

Disorderly occupation of land, homes built on gullies in Ngangue and the emptying of waste into waterways, are attitudes that must be discouraged. He also pointed to the sandy Douala soils which are easily carried into and dumped along culverts, thereby blocking the smooth flow of rain water, thus causing flooding.

Last week’s floods, he said, cut off most companies bordering the Wouri River, indicating that the companies must quickly take measures to adapt else they risk stopping work as a result of floods in the future.