“Waste is Wealth Part XXXIV” on board our
CLIMATE WAGON this week, our eyes are all focused on the flood disaster risk
situation up North and the increasing humanitarian Challenges which is pushing our
Land Media editorial team to push forward a spade of analysis that will
resonate some sense in the minds of high level officials to step up preventive
or preemptive disaster risk response management measures all over the Republic
and nature based solution actions now or wait to intervene all over the
Republic because climate change has come to stay and has suddenly taken a new
dimension. Which is why we are recommending The “Prevention is better than Cure
Therapy”.
Whistle Blowing Editorial; “Prevention is better than Cure, Act now to
Stop Future Disasters” Flood Situation
Management Up Extreme North in Cameroon Under Surveillance.
The ever growing flood situation up North and
the way it is been handled by government officials and international
organizations is leaving the public with no better option than to take their
own destinies into their own hands.
That is to start thinking of securing safe
locations and disaster free zones as habitat subsequently .
This is as a result of what the public has
witnessed and continues to undergo as flood situation persist in the Northern
Part of Cameroon in the phase of increasing torrential rains. “poverty and
absolute misery is the cause” as many
will explain for their living in unsafe areas.
Indicators and statistics have it on sound
grounds that by the end of the Far North flood disaster risk situation over 463,000
and 600,000 people risks being affected and social provisions will not meet the
expectations of the increasing numbers daily.
It is not for nothing that the indigenes of
late resorted to using sticks and bags filled with sand to mount artificial barricade in the Logone
River to reduce inflow.
Artificial barricades in a River to reduce
inflow and not a Dam in the 21st century makes mockery of the whole
situation.
A flood situation which is not taking the
government by surprise, because the signals have long been there and
meteorologist had even cautioned.
Another questionable situation under the
ongoing flood circumstance up North is how much food, how many pillows,
mattress, buckets and how much humanitarian relief actions will be sufficient
enough to help victims come back to normal life situation.
We are not talking of lives lost yet, we are
talking of material damages and social welfare, which as we report is growing
worst daily irrespective of all the interventions and missions.
Missions, which to right thinking minds has
not stop the flood and is not helping things out of the situation. Because many
have now taken advantage of the situation for business as usual.
If it is not business as usual which one is
cheaper to handle prevention or intervention? Because billions are been pumped
up extreme North but the precarious flood situation is still at stake and much
more money will be needed after to reconstruct homes, bridges and roads.
Soon you will hear of a special Presidential
plan to reconstruct disaster affected zones in Cameroon(which as we report is cooking).
When the Presidential reconstruction plan for crisis hit areas in the NoSo have
not finished it’s work and is even still lobbying for funds to complete it’s
phase II and III plan of action.
Another big glaring fact which leaves the government
with no better option than to prevent disaster risk situations from happening than
intervene because it is more expensive.
Unfortunately for the population, the Media
has ironically taken the side of over reporting on the heavy lost, intervention
measures taken by the powers that be and praise singing than cause the system
to resort to disaster risk management efforts or embark on effective reporting
on disaster risk response to averts another great climate subsequent
predicament looming.
Climate change and Climate crisis is the
disease of our time which need a lot of mitigation for adaption using nature
based solution actions to prevent, preempt, notify and alert.
Most affected areas by the flood risk
situation it must be noted are the Logone and Chari, Mayo-Sava, Mayo- Danay,
Mayo-Tsanaga and Diamaré Division.
Please “Prevention is Better than cure” for
Christ Sake… ..