A minimum of 600 people are still missing after Monday's mudslide in the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown. Four hundred people are already known to have been killed in the disaster, which struck the Regent district of the city amid widespread flooding.
The President of the West African nation, Ernest Bai Koroma, yesterday warned that entire communities had been wiped out and that more casualties would result unless 'urgent support' was provided by the international community. The Red Cross backed him up, warning that the search for survivors would be a race against time.
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"The entire community is now in mourning. Loved ones are still missing, well over 600 people," said a spokesman for the government of Sierra Leone, Abdulai Baraytai, to the BBC. Bodies are still being recovered from the destruction and debris of the mudslide and a mass burial is being planned to allow mortuaries to free up space for new victims.
The United Nations are on the ground and working to find missing people and guard against the outbreak of disease. "Contingency plans are being put in place to mitigate any potential outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea," said their spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.
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The disaster occurred after extended heavy rain in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, close to the Sugar Loaf Mountain which stands above the capital city of Freetown. The mudslide took place early on Monday morning on the slopes of Sugar Loaf Mountain, when the deluge caused a collapse. Many victims were in bed and defenceless against the oncoming debris.
"Entire communities have been wiped out. We need urgent support now," said President Ernest Bai Koroma. "This tragedy of great magnitude has once again challenged us to come together, to stand by each other and to help one another."
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Sierra Leone is one of the world's most impoverished countries and suffered a devastating civil war that lasted from 1991 until 2002. It was also hit hard by the Ebola virus outbreak of 2014, though the country was declared ebola free in March 2016.
The capital, Freetown, is densely populated and has frequent problems with heavy rain and flooding, as well endemic infrastructure problems that come from poverty and over-crowding. The lack of solid housing stock is a constant problem as structural problems are often exacerbated by rain and flooding.
Source: BBC