Reuters :
A wave of water from a burst dam has killed at least 23 people in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde following heavy rains, the army’s rescue unit says.
A colonial-era dam gave way on Sunday afternoon, releasing water from a small lake, said Assola Joseph, a local leader in the Mbankolo neighbourhood.
Residents and rescue workers were picking through the debris of rubble, broken timber, uprooted banana trees and corrugated sheeting on a steep hillside on Monday morning.
A Reuters journalist at the scene said at least five bodies had been recovered, and at least 30 houses destroyed.
Rescue workers are still digging through the mud and rubble “with the hope of saving lives,” Daouda Ousmanou, the top government official said.
Floodings have been frequent in Cameroon in recent years, with experts often blaming climate change, and their impact has been exacerbated by shoddy construction that often circumvents regulations.
In the city’s Mbankolo neighbourhood several houses collapsed on residents inside, Ousmanou said. Others drowned as they were swept away by floodwaters.
Ernest Zebaze, a 24-year-old university student said he identified the bodies of his mother and two siblings.
“I am still looking for my father who was in the house during the downpour,” Zebaze said.
Bodies of the victims have been laid out at a morgue while the injured were rushed to hospitals.
The Yaounde General Hospital said it received 12 injured, including a seven-year-old girl.
Authorities in Cameroon have been demolishing houses in high-risk zones susceptible to floods and landslides.
Many of the buildings that collapsed on Sunday had been marked for demolition.