TITLE:
An Assessment of an Urban Development-Flood-Impact Relationship in a Near Millionaire City of Cameroon (Bamenda)
AUTHORS:
Zephania N. Fogwe
KEYWORDS:
Bamenda, Flood, Fatalities, River Mezam, Stream, Population
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.4 No.4,
April
28,
2016
ABSTRACT: Since the 1990s flood water hazards have recurrently created reason
vexing moments on the Cameroonian urban folk of major and minor towns by
inflicting fatality toll beating-off manned efforts to mitigate the ugliness
unleashed. Flood catastrophe in frequency and toll in towns sited on more inland
highland towns like Bamenda has given birth to dynamic survival strategies
since impacts change in space and time. Northern Bamenda has emerged as haven
for ravaging River Mezam with rising forms of flood havoc on humans and their
investments. Primary and secondary data collected from related stakeholders
(government and municipal officials concerned with abating the flood occurrence
and managing its aftermath as well as individuals who consciously or not
trigger the floods). The aim of this study was to relativize flood water
bearing on urban population reactions in the wake of the rising calamity.
Results reveal that flood trends are advancing yearly in the like of fatalities
that systematically make nonsense of urban setup human endeavours to tame floods.
This study considers that an urgent urban flood hazard perception revolution
must be engaged for this unplanned urban front that is developing where the
topography presents a funnelling effect to stream water and so obviously has no
respect for the existing flood countering socio-economic and engineering
adaptations. Such flood disrespect for urban humans call for man-centred
innovative and comprehensive paradigms should there be any hope for less
hazardous sustainable city growth in Cameroon.