Sierra Leone Devastated

Sierra Leone is one of the world’s poorest countries. It is facing a humanitarian crisis following a devastating landslide on August 14 that killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands in the capital, Freetown. 

This is the second tragedy to hit the country in under three years following the Ebola outbreak that broke in 2014, killing at least 3,955 citizens.

Below are things to know about the crisis-hit country;

Sources; Al Jazeera, UNICEF Canada, Agence France-Presse, Deutsche Welle, PUNCH, Al Jazeera, QUARTZ Africa, gofundme,  BBC,  National Post

Massive Mudslide

On the night of August 14, a hillside collapsed in the mountainous town of Regent on the outskirts of the capital, killing at least 500 people, and leaving about 3,000 others homeless.

Three-day torrential rains caused the landslide in the hilly region.

Children hit hard

At least 200 children perished in the disaster. Hundreds of others are yet to be accounted for by the authorities. 

Deadliest in Africa

The mudslide is one of the deadliest disasters to hit the continent in the past two decades.

In November 2001, deadly floods hit Algeria and El Nino that ravaged Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Somalia between October 1997 and January 1998.

The Algeria tragedy killed at least 700 people while El Nino led to about 6,000 deaths.

Superstitious tales

Residents gave superstitious tales on what caused the tragedy. Some said people in the city killed a sacred snake in the hills and that the mudslide was a punishment from the snake’s mother.

Others said residents ate a whale beached in Freetown and that the landslide was a punishment from Mother Nature. 

Massive Displacement

At least 20,000 are currently displaced from their homes following the landslide.

Mallence Bart-Williams

Williams, a Sierra Leone-German writer and film maker, started on online funding campaign dubbed, ‘Freetown Emergency Food Relief’ to raise money for emergency relief in the devastated West African nation.

The campaign targets to raise at least 50,000 Euros.

Past Devastation

The ongoing humanitarian crisis came two years after the Ebola ravaged the country alongside neighboring Liberia and Guinea, since December 2014.

It killed close to 4,000 people before World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the country had beaten off the epidemic in 2015.

Nightmare for mortuaries

Bodies of victims are decomposing in mortuaries as they remain unidentified by the next of kin.  Authorities have buried hundreds of others in mass graves.

Some bodies were decapitated, missing heads, legs and hands.  

Gory scenes

Decomposing bodies appeared in drainage systems while some were washed up on the ocean shores.

Authorities advised locals and tourists against swimming in the Freetown’s waters after at least 60 bodies washed up on the beaches.

Rescue workers and volunteers dug with their bare hands through the debris In search of bodies. 

Professional Negligence

Joseph Rahall, a leading environmentalist said poor construction patterns and deforestation were major factors in the disaster.

Rahall, director of Green Scenery decried the lack of action by the ministries of Agriculture and Lands, which led to citizens to build homes in disaster-prone areas and massive deforestation in search of charcoal and firewood. 

Impoverished nation

Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world. 

Nearly 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Low literacy levels

The literacy level among the country’s adults is a paltry 42 percent. This falls considerably low compared to the global rate of more than 80 percent.

Age-old traditions are rife

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is accepted by about 88 percent of the population.

This is the practice of removing a woman’s genitalia for both religious and cultural practices.