Harare — Many people are believed to be dead or missing in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, after landslides demolished many homes in the Mbankolo neighborhood, BBC reports.
The calamity claimed the lives of at least 13 people, and the number is likely to rise, according to state media. The number of people still missing after the disaster is unknown, but rescue efforts continue. Earlier on Sunday, October 8, neighboring Nigeria issued a flood alarm for a number of its states, blaming the sudden release of water from a dam on the Cameroonian river, Benue.
In November 2022, a landslide near the capital killed at least 14 mourners at a funeral.
While, in September 2023, the landslide brought on by torrential rains killed at least 17 people in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while in December 2022 heavy rains in the DR Congo led to devastating landslides that saw thousands of people die.
The climate crisis in Africa will continue having devastating consequences until action is taken to mitigate the loss of life and damage to infrastructure. It is also impacting areas such as health and is resulting in various outbreaks, including the spread of cholera.