By: Francis F. M. Harding
In Freetown, most urban poor live in slums that are unregulated, have congested conditions, are overcrowded, are positioned near open sewers, and restricted to geographically dangerous areas such as hillsides, riverbanks, and water basins subject to landslides, flooding, or other hazards.
All of these factors lead that to the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases, pollution, poor nutrition, and so on. The problems faced by the poor spillover to other Freetown dwellers. As the trend to urbanization continues, this spillover effect increases and the populations are affected. Poor nutrition, pollution-related health conditions communicable diseases, poor sanitation and housing conditions, and related health conditions are the causes of urbanization as they have direct impacts on individual quality of life, while straining public health systems and resources.
We know that urbanization has a major negative impact on the nutritional health of poor populations. Because they have limited financial resources and the cost of food is higher in cities, the urban poor lack nutritious diets and this leads to illness, which contributes to loss of appetite and poor absorption of nutrients among those affected. Furthermore, environmental contamination also contributes to under-nutrition; street food is often prepared in unhygienic conditions, leading to outbreaks of food-borne. Urban dwellers also suffer from over nutrition and obesity, a growing global public health problem. Obesity and other lifestyle conditions contribute to chronic diseases (such as heart diseases, diabetes, and cancers). Although obesity is most common among the wealthy, international agencies have noted the emergence of increased weight among the middle class and poor in recent years.
The Meteorological Agency was establihed through law in 2017 with a mandate to provide meteorological and climate service throughout Sierra Leone, wheather focus and to present reports to partners to make Sierra Leoneans to have knowledge of the patterns of rains. The National Disaster Management Agency was established by Act of Parliament 2020 with its work to manage disasters and emergency that happens all over the country, to set up national disaster management fund to look into or attend to emergency disaster, provide technical support to other agencies. It was against this that Radio Democracy FM 98.1 invited the Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency and the National Disaster Management Agency.
The presenters of the programme Kadija Bangura and Mabel Kabbah invited the Deputy Director-General Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency Gabriel Kpaka and Mohamed L. Bah Director of Communications at the National Disaster Management Agency to talk about the flash rains and flooding in the country that started on 15th August 2022. In an interview with Radio Democracy F.M. 98.1 Gud Morning Salone, SLMet Deputy Director-General, Gabriel Kpaka gave an update of his agency. He said SLMet had been providing suport to the aviation sector at the airport as they have staff who are working round the clock, provide tailored service to pilot as it is very much scientific for the safety for planes, they provide service to the marine sector where in they provide tailored base weather focast to the marine sector, data, exparties, vulunarable risk assessment for the marine sector, where in the MET-Agency have a set of tools and criterials to look around the coastal areas to know weather they are vulnerable to weather invent.
He said that MET-Agency had known that there are areas in the country that are vulnurable to strong wings, sea level rise, land degredation.
MET-Agency is providing service to the agriculture sector, that is to farmers on what they should expect for the farming calenda, Sierra Leone is fall down rain country and the varieties need many rains. Though it has been changing in the weather pattern as it used to be six months of rains and six months dry. He maintains that are alos looking at hydrological side on water system within the country as they give dialy weather focast to the public.
”MET-Agency is part of the UN body and the staff at MET-Agency are trained outside the country as their job is a license job. And MET-Agency always collaborate with relevant agencies to take actions as they used data from 1991-2001 for seven locations across the country his year Freetown recorded rains up to 2,000 milimeters prio to this 2022,” Gabriel Kpaka said.
He zeroed in that June, July, August and September there is going to be likelihood of flooding September and others stronge winds is going to prevelent. He continued that they always come to conclusion with their reports on data to give a data of climate complection of Sierra Leone, the focasting soft wears, and experts knowledge. He said they always do vulnerability risk assessment for example Freetown 20 milimeteres of rain within an hour will cause flooding, as people are building are building up the hills, small drainage facility.
MET-Agency Deputy Director-General also underscored that JAS analysis showed that August has to record the huge amount of rains for the whole 2022, which mean we have to be careful in our communities, as the way people are coming into the city which has caused urbanization. In September we have to have intermittent rains with strong winds and the people in the coastal areas should be careful.
October is known for night rains and thunder storms and lighting, Mr Kpaka said. “June, July, August and September we have to experience dry spile that is when the rain start. We have a longer dry spile. There is seven days rains but a cultural approach to Sierra Leoneans for the MET-Agency there is no designated period of rains,” Gabriel Kpaka stated.
Mohamed L. Bah, Director of Communication at the National Disaster Management Agency, said NDMA was launched on 19 November 2020 by the president to manage disaster and to have presence in the entire country and they have got regional offices and are doing extremely well in their different localities. He said that the NDMA had responded to the over 20,000 population including flooding, fire incident, wind storms; they always send staff to conduct assessment that will lead the NDMA to act on the level of response.
Bah continued that the work of the agency does not only limit to the response of disaster but have the punch scope of mitigation aspect as this is the area where MET-Agency comes in.
He continues that they have been working with many agencies. He said for example Ministry of Land Housing and Country Planning is heading a particular pillar to make sure that people don’t build illegally as many structures are built on water ways with high fence that redirect the water from the hills.
The Director of Communication at the National Disaster Management Agency maintained that they have mapped out communities and trained volunteers, equipped with phones to be communicating with them directly to draw their attentions to what is happening in their communities. He said they have done cleaning with SLRA and the volunteers to clear most of the drainages, adding that the responsibility of flood mitigation has been handed over to NDMA in May from the Freetown City Council.
”We have sent an assessment team to look into the damages caused by flash floods but there were no major incident where in people lost their lives. DMA is focused largely on mitigation as they are here for response alone, as NDMA staff travelled in the entire country to engage the people in the communities affected by storms to get ownership and find ways to curb occurrence of disasters,” Mr Bah noted.
He gave an example of the Mortomeh mudslide, saying that two philathropists who built houses at 6 Mile up till know it is the establishement of NDMA, which has reached the EU and Africa Union to build toilets and market. Bah continues that for mitigation FCC has been doing flood mitigation with other agencies and partners have been meeting regulaly. He informed the public that NDMA have received tools from UNICEF to clean drainages in the country.
”We need to change our behavioral patters if we are reality hear hireing to what government year in and tear out is saying we should not do this,” Bah said. Bah continues that NDMA is collaborating with the law enforcement agencies.
From the joint press statement from both the NDMA and the Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency dated 16th August 2022 states the following precautions:
- People living in low-lying areas should move to high grounds
- People living on critical and dangerous steep slopes should move the areas
- Take cover in a strong building or under a shelter
- Those living on hilltops should stop throwing waste into drainages
- Parents should ensure their children avoid walking in the rain and avoid drainages
- Radio stations should help support incidents reporting that need an emergency response and
- Willingly evacuate if you are directed to do so
