Deadly Mudslide in Sierra Leone
Rescue workers pulling out bodies of the victims of a deadly mudslide in Sierra Leone. Photo credit: World Affairs
On August 14, after three days of heavy downpour in many parts of Sierra Leone, the residents of Freetown, the country’s capital city, woke up to horrifying scenes of a deadly mudslide that had buried hundreds of homesteads.
The overnight calamity left over 1,000 people dead and more than 3,000 others without homes. A cloud of misery and shock enclosed the entire country as hundreds of victims were laid to rest in mass graves.
Although it was a natural disaster, investigations revealed that the devastating nature of the mudslide was exacerbated by the city’s deprived infrastructure and poor drainage system. Some critics also blamed the government of Sierra Leone for laxity and failing to learn from previous disasters.
