Following occurrences of disasters mainly from windstorms in Kailahun District on the 9th and 10th June 2021, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) on Friday 6th August 2021 dispatched its Directorate of Response, headed by the Director Sinneh Mansaray, to the Eastern District in a bid to verify and assess the full extent of the disasters in order to enable management to determine the type and level of response.
The team met with its District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) in Kailahun to get an initial update on the assessment done by DDMC members. The initial verification exercise has revealed a total number of 74 houses and 116 households that were affected in Kpemalu, Kongonanie, Kissy Town, Kambama, Magorma, New London, Foyah, Kissy Kenema, Massanta and Sandeyallu communities in Luawa Chiefdom; and Bayama community in Kissy Teng Kailahun District respectively.
Director Sinneh and the team also observed that there were some houses mostly in big towns and some communities that did not meet the threshold that should warrant a response from NDMA, as some houses only had a few zincs that were blown off or attempted to be blown off due to substandard construction work.
It was also noted that some houses initially thought to have been affected by windstorms were either been abandoned for a very long period or built with substandard materials. Other facilities affected that were not captured initially like community schools in smaller towns were also verified and approved by the team for a possible response from NDMA.
The management of the National Disaster Management Agency is pleased to let the public know that it will quickly assess the verification report with the aim of responding to its recommendations promptly. As an Agency responsible to manage disasters in Sierra Leone, The NDMA is assuring the public of its commitment to efficiently managing disaster-related issues in Sierra Leone.
The Agency is therefore calling on citizens to desist from undertaking illegal activities like constructing houses on wetlands, waterways, swamps, beyond demarcated zones, stopping illegal sand mining and adhering to directives from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) responsible to manage our environments.
Directorate of Communications, National Disaster Management Agency
Contact: +23278388946
Email: mohamedlbah@ndma.gov.sl
