Industry News12 October 20263 min read

Building collapses in Douala in 2026: what went wrong, and how to build safely

Three deadly collapses in four months and 31 buildings flagged as dangerous by the city. The causes the Douala Urban Community names are the same each time — and they can all be avoided.

By FESFAHM Editorial Team

Rubble and steel bars of a collapsed building at night, with rescuers and press at the scene

2026 has been a hard year for buildings in Douala. Since June, three collapses have cost lives, and the Douala Urban Community (CUD) has flagged dozens of other buildings as dangerous.

What happened

3 June — Bépanda Omnisports. A ground-plus-three-storey (R+3) building under construction collapsed. According to the city, the site had been sealed by the municipal police on 29 May, but the developer broke the seals and carried on working. That account is still to be confirmed by an investigation.
Night of 10–11 July — Bonamoussadi. A two-storey building already declared at risk of collapse, evacuated and sealed by the CUD, came down after heavy rain. It had been reoccupied despite the seals. Six people died, three of them children.
3 August — city inspections. In a communiqué signed by the city mayor, Roger Mbassa Ndine, the CUD announced that its services had found 31 buildings with structural defects. In 19 of them, occupants face an "imminent risk" of collapse.
9 October — Bonaloka (Douala III). A concrete element fell from a four-storey building under construction onto a neighbouring house built of temporary materials. A father and three young children were killed, and another child was seriously injured. The circumstances are still to be established.

These events follow the collapse in Mabanda (Bonabéri) on 23 July 2023, in which at least 33 people died. The urban development minister said at the time that the building had no planning permission.

The causes the city names

In its August communiqué, the CUD listed the main causes of the defects it found:

Failure to follow planning rules and construction standards
Work carried out without authorisation
Unsuitable materials
Changes made without technical checks — extra floors, removed walls, new openings
Long-term abandonment of some structures

The mayor also reminded owners that every construction, extension or added storey needs prior planning authorisation.

What this means for anyone building

None of these causes is a mystery, and none is expensive to avoid compared with the cost of failure:

Get the permit before you start, and display it on site. A permit means a professional has looked at the plans. (See our guide to the building permit in Douala.)
Have the structure designed by an engineer — especially for buildings of two storeys or more. Foundations, columns, beams and slabs must be sized for the real loads.
Never add a storey to a building that was not designed for it. Most older buildings in Douala were not.
Use blocks, cement, steel and concrete that meet the specification. Weak blocks and under-dosed concrete are invisible once rendered. (See how to check cement-block quality.)
Protect neighbours during construction. Secure edges, formwork and loose elements every day, and keep people out of the fall zone.
Report warning signs early. The CUD asks residents to report wide cracks, subsidence and unusual cracking noises without delay.

Sources:

StopBlaBlaCam, "Effondrement d'un immeuble à Bépanda : à Douala, le contrôle des chantiers de nouveau mis en cause", 5 June 2026
Camer.be via AllAfrica, "Douala : 6 morts dans l'effondrement d'un immeuble à Bonamoussadi", 11 July 2026
StopBlaBlaCam, "Douala : 31 bâtiments identifiés comme dangereux, dont 19 menacent un effondrement imminent", 7 August 2026
Cameroun24, "Douala : un père et ses trois enfants tués par la chute d'un bloc de béton", October 2026
VOA, "Cameroon building collapse kills over 30", July 2023

Photos: ABORISADEADETONA, Minette Lontsie (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Rubble and twisted reinforcement bars of a collapsed building at night, with an excavator clearing debris

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What happened

3 June — Bépanda Omnisports. A ground-plus-three-storey (R+3) building under construction collapsed. According to the city, the site had been sealed by the municipal police on 29 May, but the developer broke the seals and carried on working. That account is still to be confirmed by an investigation.

Night of 10–11 July — Bonamoussadi. A two-storey building already declared at risk of collapse, evacuated and sealed by the CUD, came down after heavy rain. It had been reoccupied despite the seals. Six people died, three of them children.

3 August — city inspections. In a communiqué signed by the city mayor, Roger Mbassa Ndine, the CUD announced that its services had found 31 buildings with structural defects. In 19 of them, occupants face an "imminent risk" of collapse.

9 October — Bonaloka (Douala III). A concrete element fell from a four-storey building under construction onto a neighbouring house built of temporary materials. A father and three young children were killed, and another child was seriously injured. The circumstances are still to be established.

The causes the city names

In its August communiqué, the CUD listed the main causes of the defects it found:

Failure to follow planning rules and construction standards

Work carried out without authorisation

Unsuitable materials

Changes made without technical checks — extra floors, removed walls, new openings

Long-term abandonment of some structures

The mayor also reminded owners that every construction, extension or added storey needs prior planning authorisation.

What this means for anyone building

None of these causes is a mystery, and none is expensive to avoid compared with the cost of failure:

Get the permit before you start, and display it on site. A permit means a professional has looked at the plans. (See our guide to the building permit in Douala.)

Have the structure designed by an engineer — especially for buildings of two storeys or more. Foundations, columns, beams and slabs must be sized for the real loads.

Never add a storey to a building that was not designed for it. Most older buildings in Douala were not.

Use blocks, cement, steel and concrete that meet the specification. Weak blocks and under-dosed concrete are invisible once rendered. (See how to check cement-block quality.)

Protect neighbours during construction. Secure edges, formwork and loose elements every day, and keep people out of the fall zone.

Report warning signs early. The CUD asks residents to report wide cracks, subsidence and unusual cracking noises without delay.

Sources:

Photos: ABORISADEADETONA, Minette Lontsie (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Building collapses in Douala in 2026: what went wrong, and how to build safely

What happened

The causes the city names

What this means for anyone building

More articles

Why buildings collapse — and how to prevent it

The building permit in Douala: steps, documents and costs

Building collapses in Douala in 2026: what went wrong, and how to build safely

What happened

The causes the city names

What this means for anyone building

More articles

Why buildings collapse — and how to prevent it

The building permit in Douala: steps, documents and costs

Building for Douala's climate: heat, humidity and heavy rain