Sierra Leoneans will remember August 14, 2017, as the anniversary of the horrifying mudslide disaster, when as many as 1,500 people died and hundreds more lost their homes under mountains of mud. The disaster, which caused the Mount Sugar Loaf to slide into the Regent Village locality affecting downstream communities like Kaningo, Kamayama and Lumley, respectively, will never be forgotten in the history of our country.
Disasters are looming! Sierra Leone is rated 47th among 181 nations, recording high scores for vulnerability, susceptibility and lack of coping capacities; that is why the NDMA Early Warning and Preparedness Mechanism is helping to mitigate national Disasters in Sierra Leone.
The pain and grief of that unprecedented disaster will forever linger in our minds. It took us several months mourning the dead; while thousands of homeless families struggled to reintegrate into new communities.
“I hope the incident will remind us as Sierra Leoneans of our responsibilities to take care of our communities; adhere to directives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies responsible for protecting our communities. Desist from embarking on illegal activities like sand mining, construction of houses beyond demarcated zones and on wetlands to help reduce the risk or vulnerability of disaster-prone communities in Sierra Leone” Lit. Gen. (Rtd) Brima Sesay, the Director-General, National Disaster Management Agency – Sierra Leone, remarked.