Fresh Floods Displace 70,000 in Cameroon, Many Flee to Chad
Yaounde, Cameroon – Fresh flooding has forced at least 70,000 people to flee their temporary camps in Cameroon, with many seeking refuge in neighboring Chad. The latest disaster comes as Chad’s government pleads for international support after severe rainfall since July has killed at least 500 people and displaced about 2 million civilians.
The flooding, which began on Sunday night, has overwhelmed the temporary camps set up for flood victims along Cameroon’s northern border with Chad and Nigeria. Kamsouloum Abba Kabir, a lawmaker representing Kousseri civilians in Cameroon’s lower house of parliament, urged flood victims to rush to safety in surrounding schools, mosques, and churches.
In a video broadcast on Cameroon state TV, Kamsouloum said the lives of over 70,000 civilians rendered homeless by recent floods are again threatened by fresh floods sweeping through more villages and camps. Thirty-nine-year-old farmer Nogoue Shivom, who was forced to flee her camp, said she was able to save the lives of her three children but lost books, food, and clothes given to her by a charity organization after the first floods.
The flooding is part of a larger humanitarian crisis affecting over 5 million people in Cameroon and Chad, triggered by climate shocks. Cameroon reported in September that floods had affected over 2 million civilians on its northern border with Chad and rendered over 200,000 homeless. The central African state warned of a looming famine and began transferring civilians to several camps, including Kousseri.
Rebeka, the highest government official in Kousseri, said by Sunday night, several thousand flood victims fled from their camp and surrounding villages, seeking refuge in safer places. A greater portion of the victims who left the camp have crossed over to Chad’s capital, N’djamena, where they hope to find safety.
The Cameroon government reports that about 70,000 flood victims have either crossed into Chad or are seeking refuge in border villages. The government says scores of people have died in the floods but gives no further details.
Doctors Without Borders has called for a coordinated and rapid international response to save the lives of thousands of people who have fled floodwaters and are seeking refuge with desperate shortages of food, shelter, drinking water, and health care.
This is not the first time Cameroonians have sought refuge in Chad. In 2021, at least 100,000 civilians fled Cameroon’s northern border to Chad after conflicts over water between cattle ranchers and fishermen killed 40 people and wounded 70.
