YAOUNDE, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- About 900 families have been displaced from their homes in Cameroon's commercial capital Douala due to flash flood following heavy rains, government officials said on Friday.
All major neighborhoods of the coastal city were submerged early Friday following the heavy rains, Samuel Ivaha Diboua, the governor of the Littoral region, told reporters.
"The situation is serious and requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders," Diboua said.
Residents struggled to contain the disaster which cut off some electricity supply lines and halted transportation in most parts of the city.
"We have never seen this kind of disaster in 20 years. We have lost all our belongings. I don't even know where all my children are," James Nayou, a resident of Douala, told Xinhua.
"We are overwhelmed. My houses have collapsed and children are finding it difficult to survive the disaster," another resident Lilian Nkolou added.
Diboua said that the government has set up a crisis committee to manage the situation and assist victims.
The country's National Meteorological Centre has warned that "heavy and continuous rainfall" is expected in the city till the end of August with "very high risk of flooding in poorly drained and low lying areas."
The government is working to mobilize relief support for the affected families and maintain proper drainage system in the city, according to Diboua. Enditem
