Mapping of the August 2020 Douala Flood Impact and Its Consequences for Urban Planning and Investments

Context and objectives

The largest city in Cameroon, Douala, experienced in August 2020 a series of flooding events which caused widespread damages and displaced over 5,000 people. In response to the flooding, the Government of Cameroon and the municipal authorities of Douala received technical support to assess the flooding’s impact, and to build their capacities to use low-cost, collaborative, and open-data collection approaches for Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

Main activities and results

The ACP-EU NDRR project mapping the impacts of the August 2020 Douala floods implemented the following activities:  

• Component 1 - Flood impact mapping - This component provided for cost-effective flood-mapping by using gender-inclusive participatory and open data approaches that engage women from institutional partners as well as female mappers trained under the ACP-EU NDRR Integrating Climate and Disaster Risk Considerations into Development Planning in Cameroon project. Models of the August 2020 disaster event were based on previous flood-modelling experiences initiatives undertaken in the localities of Ngaoundéré and Yaoundé. These models were linked to other World Bank project investments under the Cameroon Resilient and Inclusive Cities Project (PDVIR) and the preparation of the Douala Urban Mobility Project (PMUD) to support the CUD in its contingency and urban planning. 

• Component 2 - Capacity building in integrating flood risk modelling into urban planning - This component built on the results and knowledge developed through the course of the ACP-EU NDRR Integrating Climate and Disaster Risk Considerations into Development Planning in Cameroon project. This included the developed flood-risk models for Yaoundé and Ngaoundéré and their integration into urban planning of the municipalities. In addition, the component built on capacity building and technical assistance from which Douala received as part of the World Bank’s City Resilience Program. 

The Douala Municipality was provided with technical support to assess the flood impact in Douala through capacity building on the use of low-cost, collaborative, and open data collection approaches for DRM. New modelling activities were also applied beyond the events of August 2020 to produce flood models with a return period and a model on flooding caused by sea-level rise. Additional hydrological and meteorological data were collected to inform these models and develop a flood hazard model for sea-level rise. 

Partnerships and coordination

This project was implemented by the World Bank’s Africa Urban Resilience team in collaboration with the Municipality of Douala, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the Ministry for the Economy and Regional Planning (MINEPAT), the Civil Protection Directorate under the Ministry for Territorial Administration (MINAT), the National Fire Brigade Corps (CNSP), and the Ministry of Health (MINSANTE).