Disasters, Conflicts and Migration
Natural Disasters |
||
Type |
Occurs |
Comments / Details |
Drought |
Yes |
Drought periodically affects the northern regions of Cameroon, particularly the North and Far-North Regions. The climate of these regions is similar to Sahel countries. |
Earthquakes |
Yes |
The last seismic activities were reported in Evodoula, in the Central region in 2005 with a 4.6 magnitude. Most of underground events took place around Malabo island over the last 30 years. |
Volcanic Eruptions |
Yes |
Mt Cameroon is the only currently active volcano as well as one of the largest volcanoes in Africa. Past eruptions were recorded in 1982, 1999 and 2002. |
Epidemics |
Yes |
Cholera: cases of cholera are common in Cameroon. Since 18 May through 21 May 2018, the Mayo Oulo's Health Zone in Cameroon, reported three suspected cholera cases and no deaths in two health areas in Northern Cameroon, bordering Nigeria. The last notable cholera outbreak was reported in 2014, in the same region, with more than 1500 cases reported. Meningitis: High vigilance is required for meningitis cases over Mali, northern Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon and western Sudan. Monkey pox: From 30 April through 30 May 2018, a total of 16 confirmed and suspected cases were reported in five districts of Cameroon: Njikwa, Akwaya, Biyem-Assi, Bertoua, and Fotokol. |
Extreme Temperatures |
Yes |
North and the far-North can reach up to 35 to 44°C. |
Flooding / Mudslides |
Yes |
During the raining season, the risk of flooding is high and are found virtually in all parts of the country with cases of deaths. In 2018, five people were killed, dozens more injured following a flood in the cities of Limbe and Douala. |
Insect Infestation |
Yes |
As in many Sahel countries, the infestations of locusts invasion are punctual. In the northern regions, there can be infestations of locusts which destroy all greenery vegetation during their passage in a short period of time. The regional organization SOS Sahel, in connection with some United Nations agencies (FAO) has implementing plans to prevent the arrival of these infestations. |
High Waves / Surges |
No |
|
Wildfires |
Yes |
In Central regions called evergreen forest with taller grasses, the North and the south-east, farmers usually, to prepare the cultivated land, set wild fire to burn the vegetation. This process which destroys sometimes more than the needed land is forbidden by the law to protect the nature against the advanced desert. Many sawmill enterprises, which encourage the phenomenon, are very active in the exportation of wood raw material which is a damaging for the environment and the preservation of nature. |
High Winds |
No |
|
Man-Made Issues |
||
Civil Strife / International Conflict / Internally Displaced Persons / Refugees Present |
Yes |
In 2019, eight out of ten regions in Cameroon are being impacted by three humanitarian emergencies affecting the country. More than one million people are living as refugees or IDPs, twice as much as one year ago, making Cameroon one of the fastest growing displacement crises in Africa in 2018. Three million people are food insecure and over 1.5 million people are in need of emergency health assistance The situation in the North-West and South-West is where insecurity has forced over 437,000 people to flee across four regions, which now host 40 percent of the total displaced population in Cameroon. In the Lake Chad Basin, Cameroon is the second most affected country by the ongoing crisis. More than 50 per cent of people living in the Far North (1.9 million) need humanitarian assistance Finally, Cameroon is home to the largest number of Central African refugees, with 252,000 refugees, in the East and Adamaoua. |
Landmines / UXO Present |
Yes |
Before 2017, Cameroon had not been considered a landmine-affected country; but since the outbreak of current insecurities in the Northern region that has changed. Over 20 Cameroon soldiers were killed or injured landmine blasts in 2017, as well as several civilians. |
Sources:
https://www.who.int/countries/cmr/en/
https://earthquaketrack.com/p/cameroon/recent
http://www.acmad.net/new/sites/default/files/meningitis_bulletin_003_2019.pdf
https://reliefweb.int/report/cameroon/least-5-killed-floods-wreak-havoc-cameroon
https://www.humanitarianresponse.info
https://landminesinafrica.wordpress.com/tag/cameroon/
For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Country Profile.
Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities
Seasonal Effects on Transport |
||
Transport Type |
Time Frame |
Comments / Details |
Primary Road Transport |
All year long |
The road network accounts for 85 percent of transport in the country, and suffers, among other problems, from a lack of signalling, markings and sidewalks, and from cracks, potholes, and poor rainwater drainage. |
Secondary Road Transport |
June to November |
With less than 10% paved road, unpaved tracks may be impassable during the raining seasons. In the Northern regions, during the raining season, the rivers sometimes attend higher levels which result into flood affecting all the surroundings. Therefore, road may be cut and the traffic restricted for hours or days. |
Rail Transport |
November to March |
During the dry season, it is noted an increase of derailment which augments the transit time of cargoes going to North part of Cameroon and Chad. Camrail authorities are engaging rectifications works in some parts of the rail lines to reduce as much as possible such known derailments. |
Air Transport |
|
There are 5 airports accepting schedule commercial flights all year long: Douala International Airport, Garoua International Airport, Maroua Salak Airport, Ngaoundéré Airport and Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport. |
Waterway Transport |
|
There is no high scale transport network through Cameroons’ rivers at the present time. |
Sources:
https://www.unece.org/info/ece-homepage.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_Cameroon
Seasonal Effects on Storage and Handling |
||
Activity Type |
Time Frame |
Comments / Details |
Storage |
|
|
Handling |
June to November |
Port activities are affected during the raining season. The operations of handling of bulk/break-bulk food commodities as well as containers are frequently interrupted because of heavy rains. |
Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response
Government
Source: Research Gate
The Department of Civil Protection (DPC)
In 1996, the Government of Cameroon established a National Civil Defence Council (NCDC), made up of the DPC/MINATD, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Transport, the Fire Brigade and The Cameroon Red Cross. They mainly focus on natural disasters like the toxic gas emanation from Manoun and Nyos lakes and/or volcanic activities in the cities of Limbe and Buea.
Contact: Mariama Yap, Director, Tel1: +237 222 23 57 98; Tel2: +237 222 23 51 47
The Cereal Board (Office Céréalier)
The Office Céréalier’s headquarter located in Garoua (North Province). It is in charge of the management of the country security stocks of cereals.
Each year it purchases cereals from cultivators during the harvest season (September to December) and constitutes a security cereal stock to curb any situation of penury or unfortunate events. In the case of an onset of penury or inflation of food commodities in the concerned areas, the Office resells the security stock to the population either at cheaper costs than the current markets price to stabilize or regulate the prices. The government may take decision to distribute the stock to the affected population in comparison to the gravity of the situation.
Contact: Gourlemond Gilbert, General Director, Email: officecerealier@yahoo.fr, Mob: +237 699 00 88 28, Tel: +237 222 23 45 49
For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Cameroon Government Contact List
Humanitarian Community
For more information on humanitarian agency contact details, please see the following link: 4.2 Cameroon Humanitarian Agency contact list