Deadly mudslide in Sierra Leone

Early in the morning on August 14, 2017, after three days of torrential rainfall, devastating floods and mudslides occurred in and around Sierra Leone's capital city, Freetown. So far, the number of confirmed deaths is 467; hundreds of others are missing and feared dead. More than 3,000 people were left homeless and hundreds of buildings were damaged or destroyed by the mudslides. Occurring during a particularly wet rainy season, the disaster was exacerbated by the city's situation at or below sea level, poor infrastructure, and drainage system. Local organizations and the American Red Cross handled the initial recovery efforts, and the international community has also been supplying aid.

 According to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, Sierra Leone had been in the midst of a particularly wet rainy season, with the capital city of Freetown, in the Western Area of the country, experiencing 41 inches (104 cm) of rainfall leading up to the mudslides since July 1, 2017 – nearly tripling the area's seasonal average. The Sierra Leone meteorological department did not issue a warning ahead of torrential rainfall to hasten evacuations from danger zones; from August 11 to 14, Freetown received three consecutive days of downpours, which led to severe flooding in the city and its surrounding suburbs.  Flooding is an annual threat for the area: in 2015 floods killed 10 people and left thousands homeless.

Overlooking Freetown, Sugar Loaf mountain partially collapsed, triggering mudslides in the early morning of August 14 which damaged or completely submerged several houses and structures, killing residents – many still asleep – who were trapped inside. The Regent suburban district is considered to have endured the most devastation; a mountainous settlement 15 miles east of Freetown, Regent had been obliterated when nearby hillsides collapsed around 6:00 GMT. Other areas which reported serious damage include the settlements Motormeh, Kamayamah, Kaningo, Dworzak, New England, Kroobay, Mountain Cut, George Brook, Big Warf, and Wellington. Director Kelfa Karbo of the relief agency Street Child described a "domino effect" which resulted in structures demolishing other properties as the mudslides progressed.