By Hassan Osman Kargbo
Why is it that every year the capital city of Sierra Leone is always faced with devastating incidents? Many people have been asking if the capital city Freetown is really a safe place to live? Freetown has been tipped as one of the disaster prone cities year-in-year-out. It is not a secret that every year especially in the raining seasons Freetown is always faced with devastating climate and environmental challenges that cost lives and property worth thousands of dollars.
It could be recalled that on Monday August 14, 2017 a devastating landslide and flooding disaster ripped through Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown. This caused millions of dollars of destruction and damage to buildings, infrastructure, and a reported loss of more than a thousand lives in Freetown. Since then, a lot had happened in the city.
The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) is the body set up by the Government of Sierra Leone to look at disaster issues in the country. Over the years, NDMA had reported series of disasters issues especially in the capital city. In 2022, NDMA reported that at Looking Town Kissy, East of Freetown mudslide incident leaving five people dead. Also series of flooding and fire incidents had been reported by the NDMA which have led many people to question the safety of people living in the capital city of Freetown.
A recent incident of a seven-storey building that collapsed along Bai Bureh Road, around a place popularly called Shell Company, New Road, Kissy also in the East of Freetown, is reported to have so far claimed 18 lives. The disaster has also left many severely injured, with two under-five girls and a boy who were confirmed dead by the National Disaster Management Agency – Sierra Leone (NDMA).
Up to six survivors have been rescued while more victims are still trapped under the debris, according to NDMA. The cause of the collapsed building, which is used for residential and business purposes, hasn’t been confirmed while rescue efforts are ongoing.
It’s crucial to for the authorities to conduct thorough investigations into the causes of the collapse and try to strengthen building regulations at the line Ministry of Lands Housing and Country Planning to ensure safety compliance accordingly. This is because people are disturbed about the growing ugly incidents of building collapses and are thus asking series of legitimate questions as to if the city of Freetown is really safe place for the people.
It is of this need that architects, engineers, urban planners, decision makers, financiers, and citizens should work in collaboration to ensure that Freetown is well planned and structured for future to prevent the reoccurrence of such problem, if not necessary relocated to a suitable space with a perfect topography for the development of a new administrative city.
