Azore Opio, Rita Tangie & Peter Kum*
18 August 2008
They came down in fast blinding sheets, drumming hard on rooftops and whipping at the vegetation.The rains set off floods that practically wrecked the better part of the day. Buea was transformed into a delta with what began as rivulets swelling into swirling streams, while runoff littered with garbage gurgled down the gutters.
Nearly every street in the town was turned into fast flowing shallow rivers. In a matter of minutes, the rivulets had cut corners on the stony streets and found their way into bedrooms, parlours and kitchens.
The rains paralysed taxis, the Great Soppo market, stores, bars and other businesses which remained closed for at least five hours. Everyone went back to sleep.Then flash floods from the mountain descended upon the town. Along with them flowed garbage piled over the months, debris, filth and gut-wrenching smells.
By the time the rains subsided into a gentle drizzle around half past eleven, many people were in tears and sorrow. Some traders at the Great Soppo Market had their merchandise flushed away.
One Irene Teubou, a tomato seller, said she got to the market before the rains came down. As she began displaying her tomatoes, it started drizzling. Soon afterwards, it began pouring. The ravine along the market filled up rapidly, overflowed its banks and submerged the market in no time.
"Before I could gather up my goods, the torrent had washed away tomatoes worth about FCFA 2000. It was hell. The water was knee-deep," recounted Teubou. Her neighbour said she lost plantains worth FCFA 4,000.
A vegetable and spice seller, Beatrice Njoh, lamented that she lost about FCFA 130,000 worth of her wares. Recalled Njoh; "the rains turned the market into a swimming pool, sending us scurrying after our goods."
As for Caroline Mafany, the torrent flushed away FCFA 50,000 worth of spices crayfish and fresh tomatoes.A dealer in flip-flops was near tears."I lost two bags of flip-flops. That is about FCFA 35,000. My master settled me only last week and this is my first venture," said the trader.
Several other traders in cocoyam, snails and the like lost something to the torrential rainfall.
Store owners too, counted their losses. One Ejike said he couldn't open his store."This is the worst sale I have ever made since I started business," he said.Still, others lamented the wrecked day.
Taxi drivers couldn't remit minimum returns ("balance") because they began plying only at midday with a scanty commuter turn-up.Francis Nkemotoh said he only started working at about noon. He said it was practically impossible to break even on that day.
Taxi drivers did not only start working late, but few people sallied out of their homes on that day.Away from the market scene, the heavy rains equally wrecked havoc in the neighbourhoods.
The Post observed several families in Great Soppo hurling carpets out and dragging furniture onto verandas, while other members swept and mopped the wetness on the floors. Verandas and some fences gave way too.
A hairdresser on Campaign Street said she lost all her equipment in the flood. All this notwithstanding, no major casualties were recorded.However, as the day picked a little steam towards 6 pm, a blackout that lasted till about 8 pm added more gloom to the already ruined day.Dejected, the town folks trooped back to the warmth of their homes.
*(UB Journalism Students On Internship)
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