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Cameroon: Floods - Emergency Plan of Action Final Report (MDRCM028)

Countries
Cameroon
Sources
IFRC
Publication date
Origin
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A. SITUATION ANALYSIS

Description of the disaster

As of 28 September 2019, the localities located along the Logone River, in the east of Logone and Chari division (Zina subdivision) and south of Lake Maga (Kai Kai subdivision - Mayo Danay division) suffered floods due to the sudden rise of the Logone River waters, aggravated by the rupture of several community dikes. Authorities registered up to 30m rise in water level between end of September and 4 October 2019, which affected Nohoye, Pinfoung, Koundouma, Guiding, Sarahara, Lahai, Guirvidig, Dawaya, Gounmi and Mourna communities.

The populations of these villages sought refuge on the dikes and some of them were reluctant to be relocated to safer areas since their basic food source was the fish from the inundated river and other animals killed during the floods. Indeed, they had lost with these floods, poultry, and livestock, but their farms had also been engulfed by the waters. There was a risk for agricultural activities and livelihoods to be impacted in the Far North, where over 70% of the population are farmers. The effects on agriculture further exacerbated food insecurity in the region due to the high-water levels in the rivers of the affected areas.

Water from the river was the population’s unique source of water for daily domestic needs (cooking, dishwashing, bathing, etc.), while some families went to water points which had been flooded. All toilets had been flooded and the population resorted to practicing open defecation into the river as well as in their immediate surroundings, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases, such as cholera.

Flooding had also restricted access to several villages, so canoes were being used to reach certain areas in the division, as many roads had been reported impassable. Properties had been either trapped beneath the rubble or carried away by the flood waters. The Red Cross Committee of Mayo Danay reported a total of 25,582 persons (3,402 households) affected in 4 sub-divisions, with many injured.

On 24 October 2020, this DREF operation was launched for CHF 78,140 to provide emergency assistance to 329 most vulnerable households (2,303 people) affected by the floods in the districts of the Mayo Danay division (Yagoua, Maga and Kai-Kai) for three months. At the end of the implementation, the operation reached 3,248 people.