A landslide caused by heavy rains in western Cameroon killed at least 42 people overnight, state media reported on Tuesday, as rescue teams scoured the rubble of destroyed houses for survivors.
At least a dozen more people were still reported as missing in the town of Bafoussam in the western highlands, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Cameroon’s main port city of Douala.
“Around 10 p.m. I heard a noise,” said Albert Kenge, who survived the landslide. “I saw a big cloud of dust and when it dissipated, I saw that the mountain had collapsed.”
Heavy rains continued beyond the end of Central Africa’s rainy season, causing severe flooding which has displaced nearly 30,000 people in Cameroon’s neighbor, the Central African Republic.
The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said last week that exceptionally heavy rain in South Sudan had destroyed health centers and roads, making access to food and water more difficult for nearly 1 million people.
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