Is Mount Cameroon still an active volcano?
Over the years, the powerful Mount Cameroon has sat tall but seemingly dormant at the fringes of Fakp division, where increasing millionaires seem tom have been patient with their millions. They now ignore the tall giant above them, randomly constructing tall buildings, bypassing inspection authorities by offering economic incentives, which have impending consequences.
Many inexperienced individuals are now contractors, since they offer very cheap labor, as experts are very expensive to hire.
The authorities on their part seem to have turned a blind eye to majority of these buildings, which are constructed in violation to standard construction codes, with some reaching up to five floors. Certain buildings contain weak or uninspected foundations, which from mere pressure from the wind, have embarrassingly collapsed. This was the case of the popular Heartland supermarket in the molyko neighborhood in 2016.
According to geographers, Mount Cameroon is expected to erupt every ten years: however it has only erupted seven times in the last 100years. Despite the latter, is still contains large quantities of magma beneath it, making it an active volcano. In the year 1999, Buea was
little more than a tiny village when erupted, destroying farmlands and property, reminding denizens of the danger standing tall before them. Before it erupted, it sent out trembling warning signals days before sprouting up lava, which fortunately only ran down towards Bakingili. At the time, Buea could only boast of a few buildings. The flowing lava engulfed farmlands.
According to Stanley Acham, ERuDeF manager for Mount Nlonako and the Mount Muanenguba Landscape, Mount Cameroon is still very active and he has expressed concerns with the way buildings are constructed in Buea. “A maximum of two buildings were permitted in Buea, however that is no longer the case. This is a great threat to the population “he noted. He added “most people nowadays have to contact the council or architects with appropriate expertise, to provide them with proficient plans, but they don’t do that, which is very dangerous. I think the mountain is capable of erupting at any time, because we expect it to erupt after every ten years”.
According to reports from most contrition companies in Cameroon, Buea is one of the fastest growing towns in Cameroon. It is undeniable that the construction of these beautiful buildings gives the town a scenic look; however, it comes at the expense of the daily destruction of green vegetation in place of living space. This results to beautiful vegetation going into extinction, resulting to climate change. This has been more evident lately, with the increase in temperature Buea is witnessing. In addition, wild winds have caused a spike in the number of trees being off rooted not only in Buea, but in general landscapes in the Southwest. If construction in Buea is not well supervised and carried out by experts instead of uncertified and unqualified individuals, many occupants might not live to tell the story when the mountain erupts.
