Many people are still missing, according to a local radio station.

Floods hampered rescue efforts, forcing locals to dig bodies out of debris with bare hands.

Several neighbourhoods were submerged by the Mefou River after heavy rainfall on Sunday.

Mbankolo, an impoverished neighbourhood built precariously on a hillside, was most affected.

The flooding killed Ymele Guy’s child, a local resident.

Just as I was telling my wife that things were bad, my children and I were submerged in a fraction of a second,” he said.

“I saved my wife and three children, but the rain snatched away the fourth.”

The debris buried her pregnant sister, Jouego Cathérine said.

“I’ve still not found my sister. She got married in April. Together with her in-laws, all seven of them died here. Five corpses have already been recovered, but two remain – my sister and a young girl.”

A soil embankment collapsed last year and killed at least 14 funeral attendees during Yaoundé’s rainy season.

Floodwaters swept away dozens of houses during Sunday’s disaster.

The passageway of one home had been reduced to a mere shortcut for emergency responders and grieving residents.

Due to the scale of the disaster, people from outside the neighbourhood came to see the devastation on Monday.

Paul Atanga Nji, the interior minister, urged residents to evacuate the area due to unstable soil.

As temporary accommodations are still being constructed, many locals remain in the neighborhood.