The disaster occurred on the evening of September 08 2023 in Mbankolo, a neighborhood of Yaoundé.

Heavy rain fell on Yaounde early yesterday evening. Tragedy struck at the foot of one of the hills that form the ring of Yaounde. About ten houses collapsed in a landslide. 13 bodies have already been found, eight of them from the same family. Many other families are still searching for their missing relatives. Search operations launched last night by the fire brigade and police forces are underway at the site of the disaster.

The incident took place in Mbankolo neighborhood at the source of the Cocotier river, near the village of Febe, in the 2nd subdivision of Yaounde. Mbankolo is one of the highest areas of the capital. Houses have been built on the slopes of the mountain. The Mfoundi river rises below. An artificial lake was created here during the colonial period. Neglected, it failed under the pressure of Sunday’s spill, leaving water, earth and mud to bury the victims. For years, several people had warned of the danger of a landslide at Mbankolo. But their warnings fell on deaf ears.

The accident reopens the debate on the management of high-risk areas and compliance with building standards in Cameroon’s urban centres. Several months ago, the same thing happened on Sunday afternoon in another neighborhood. Today’s incident in Mbankolo is reminiscent of the one in Damascus on Sunday 27 November 2022, when the ground collapsed on people gathered for a funeral. Fifteen people were killed, including a newly married couple. On 29 October 2019, around forty people lost their lives in Ngouache, in the Bafoussam 3 subdivision in the West region.