Faithful stand in the rain listening to Pope Benedict XVI as he delivers a sermon at the basilica in Cameroon's capital Yaounde on March 18, 2009. Cameroon has seen increasingly strong rainfall in the early months of each year, normally its dry period. REUTERS / Finbarr O'ReillyBy Ntungwe Elias Ngalame
26 Apr 2010 13:26:00 GMT

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AlertNet) – When visitors arrived in Yaounde recently for the 8th annual meeting of the African Road Maintenance Funds Association, they got an odd greeting from a Cameroon host delegate. “Yaounde, a city flanked by seven hills, is an environmentally friendly place with a traditional charming cold climate in the early mornings and late evenings. We are, however experiencing strange persistent rains over the past months that require our visitors to arm themselves with the necessary equipment – raincoats, warm clothes, umbrellas – to cope with the changes,” warned Tsimi Evouna, a government delegate to the meeting. Residents of Cameroon’s capital are suffering through a climate nightmare this year as heavy rains that have fallen since January flood streets and homes in what is normally a dry period of the year. “Formerly there were at least four months of dry season with rains in April to November and the dry season characterized by persistent sunshine from December to March. Strangely, however, we have had rains throughout this year,” said Elvis Mbong, a worker with the Ministry of Agriculture in Yaounde. Mama Susan, 49, a “buyam-sellam” trader who lives in a squalid shelter she calls home in the Etoug-ebe quarter, says rain boots have become her permanent footwear “I put on my rain boots regularly to go to the market, church or social gatherings because I cannot risk damaging my leather shoes in water. We have been having persistent rains and floods for the past five months,” she lamented. Like Etoug-ebe, many quarters in the capital city have been virtually submerged in water, with many alleyways leading to homes covered by floods. Lum, 26, an unemployed woman, said three days of incessant rain and floods had rendered her a prisoner in her home, unable to get to the nearest market for food. …

Rainboots in the dry season for Cameroon’s capital, as climate change takes hold via Carbon-Based Climate Change Adaptation