Managing Disasters : Preventive Strategies Outlined

Measures taken to prevent natural and provoked disasters in Cameroon were presented during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister, Head of Government, Joseph Dion, on December 29, 2022. This follows sad events that recently happened in the country, notably the landslide of November 27, 2022 in the Damas Neighbourhood in Yaounde and Japoma incident in Douala of December 25, 2022. Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute extended the condolences of the government to the bereaved families. It is thus against this backdrop that the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji presented measures taken and those envisaged to mitigate the consequences of disasters across the country. For the management of natural catastrophies, the Minister said with the technical support of the Civil Protection Department, they have always opted for anticipation, operating on the African adage “Prevention is better than cure. “We regularly receive the weather bulletin of the National Observatory for Climate Change (ONACC) and reports from the national meteorology services.  These reports are used to analyse and determine the degree of eventual catastrophies which are strong winds, tornados, landslides, earthquakes and thunderous rains,” he stated, adding that the information is communicated to competent administrative authorities to take preventive measures notably the putting in place of a vigilance unit. 
As concerns provoked disasters, the Minister regretted the fact that some individuals construct without building permits and settle in marshy zones, fragile hills and lands susceptible to slide. “Administrative authorities are always on the field sensitizing the population and for prevention to be effective, it is important to put an accent on the civil responsibility of the pop...