Perhaps you have heard of the devastating natural disaster that hit Sierra Leone’s capital last week.

Perhaps not.

It began at around 6AM last Monday when the side of Sugar Loaf Mountain collapsed into the town of Regent, sending a torrent of water, mud and rocks hurtling down the valley, also crushing houses in two other areas: Kamayama and Kaningo.

As it stands, around 500 people have been found dead, while 600 are missing and more than 3 000 displaced.

Bodies are washing up on the beach.

Regent, which sits 16km outside the nation’s capital of Freetown, is one of the region’s poorest areas – much like Hout Bay’s Imizamo Yethu – with houses predominantly made of zinc and wood.

Unfortunately, the floods don’t appear to be slowing down, according to the Washington Post:

Weather reports show the region has received approximately 20 inches more rain than what usually falls in the last half of July and early half of August.

Now, more than a week later, South Africa has pledged R8 million to assist the country with one of its worst natural disasters in two decades, reports News24.

International Relations Minister Maite Nkoane Mashabane said on Wednesday that:

South Africa’s initial plan had been to send a search, rescue and recovery team. The plan was, however, abandoned after Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma said that his country had suspended the rescue operation due to difficulties and constraints relating to weather conditions and the bad state of bodies recovered.

“…We are announcing an initial financial contribution of R8 million for humanitarian assistance through the United Nations World Food Programme…This contribution is for the provision of material for temporary shelter, medical supplied and food aid.

Speaking to the BBC, chief pathologist Simeon Owis Koroma said:

“There will be more bodies, in smaller numbers in the coming weeks. That’s how it is with disasters in Sierra Leone. But we cope. We are lucky because we are prepared,” he says, paying tribute to the volunteers like Mr Sesay who were trained in safe burials during the 2014 Ebola epidemic.

Of course, it’s not only the Ebola epidemic that the country has had to endure in recent history, but also more than a decade of civil war which only ended in 2002.

 

Now, to add to the disaster, aid agencies have warned that there is a risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid spreading as more flooding is expected.

Although the west African country is known to rise from such disasters, it’s heartbreaking how little support has been shown for the country.

It’s high time we stop blaming the media for our lack of empathy, so here’s a Sierra Leone Facebook filter for you if that’s your thing:

[source:bbc&news24&wp&wp&aljazeera]