YAOUNDE: THE GOVERNMENT IS TAKING PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST FLOODS

In recent days, severe rains in Yaoundé have caused areas such as Avenue Kennedy to flood, inflicting significant material damage and impeding human activity.

The effort to keep Yaoundé safe from flooding began in 2007.

PADY, or the Yaoundé Sanitation Project, was initially started in 2007, with funding from the African Development Bank.

The second phase of the Project began in 2013, with the goal of achieving the "zero flood" goal by 2020.

The PADY project resulted in the building of water canals, which significantly decreased floods in Yaoundé.

The constructions are impressive, with a 3.5-kilometer canal on the bank of the Mfoundi River, a 6-kilometer drainage channel in support, two towpaths and bridges, and four drainage channels 8 kilometers long from the tributaries.

"Over the last two decades, the city of Yaoundé has suffered several floods in the city center." People have lost loved ones. "We were able to notice that floods have significantly reduced in the city center thanks to the drainage systems," said Gérard Essi Ntoumba, engineer of PADY.

Yaoundé inhabitants saw one of the biggest floods in recent years in 2015. Four individuals were killed, many more were relocated, houses were damaged, and water-related illnesses were on the increase.

They now live in harmony after five years. Flooding is now a distant memory in a metropolis that is home to almost 2.5 million of Cameroon's 23 million people.

The African Development Bank is committed to completing the Yaoundé Sanitation Project's second phase (PADY 2).

The first, at $36 million US, allowed for the development of 20% of the length of the major watercourse (Mfoundi) and its four tributaries that traverse the city of Yaoundé.

The second phase focused on the development of the remaining linear: drainage canals, the building of an unloading facility, and the treatment of household faecal sludge.

This effort has inspired people to become engaged in cleaning up their surroundings in order to better their living conditions. For community activities, groups have been formed in Yaoundé's different districts.

Cameroon's environment ministry, for its part, has educated the public on appropriate trash disposal techniques.

This is to prevent plastic trash and other debris from blocking drainage systems, preventing free flow of water and creating flooding when it rains.