(FEATURE)
By: Mohamed Sahr
On Friday 14 July 2023, Freetown awoke to an inundated and localized flooding caused by large-scale structural collapse of homes. In this context, it is evidence that floods have got pervasive effects at both receiving ends in Freetown since urbanization gained its foothold at every shade of the city’s landmass where lives and properties potentially vanished particularly during the height of the rainy season in Sierra Leone.
The flash floods lead to power, gas, and water outages as well as interrupt transportation routes and commercial supplies; pollute drinking water systems; damaged homes, buildings, and roads; and cause severe environmental problems.
However, in today’s publication, we are focusing on the real-time causes of flooding precisely in our metropolitan city (Freetown). Floods are attributed to poor urban planning and irregular construction, poor waste management practices, reclaiming of swamps and banking waterways for construction, and extreme weather conditions and climate change among others.
Apparently, poor urban planning and irregular construction are the most-talked-about drivers of floods in Freetown. Failure of a well-structurally planned urban settlement is attributed to the damage of homes as well as lives for many years in the city. Freetown is nowhere to be named as the most planned and structural city in sub-Sahara West Africa let alone being placed as the most designed and architectural place that geographers may consider.
Many have it in mind that Freetown was surgically gauzed by the rugged colonial doctors in Britain who used no aesthetics to make the perfect build-up of the city.
In fact, the situation has worsened all throughout after independence with no successful drive from all the past and present Mayors. The city has become congested, people building settlements in the “red belt” areas, and extremely narrowing drainages to name but few.
Unlike other cities like Dar Es Salaam, Addis Ababa, Lagos, Nigeria, Nairobi, Tunis, Gaborone, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Yaounde, Conakry, Banjul are among the best-planned cities in Africa whiles Freetown cannot be visible in the chart.
This has even increased disaster risk in the city. For instance, the August 14 mudslides in Freetown led to the death of over one thousand one hundred and forty-one (1,141) people in the Western Area of which three thousand (3,000) people were displaced as a result of heavy rainfall, deforestation and soil erosion.
On the other hand, because a moratorium on housing construction was not enforced, unorganized settlements and municipal works encroached on flood plains, resulting in narrower water passageways. During floods, Freetown’s drainage systems are often blocked by discarded waste, especially in the city’s poorer communities like the bays, contributing to higher levels of surface runoff.
The construction of large homes in hillside areas and unrestricted deforestation for residential purposes weakened the stability of nearby slopes and caused soil erosion. Within a decade leading up to the disaster, Sierra Leone cleared approximately 800,000 hectares (2,000,000 acres) of forest cover the country’s civil war, fought between 1991 and 2002, was also a cause of deforestation.
The nation’s Environmental Protective Agency launched a reforesting mission in the region two weeks prior to the floods and mudslides, which was ultimately unsuccessful. Africa Research Institutes 2023 observed.
It is quite clear that improper waste management system is another cause of floods in Freetown. Oftentimes, garbage that is not properly disposed enters into drainage systems and clogs drains. This obstructs the free flow of the water that enters into these drains causing water to back up during rainfall flooding the surrounding area.
Many locals in the city have resorted themselves in stocking the drainages with wastes especially when rain starts to pour hoping that these wastes have to go through the end site. These human actions have deteriorated the overflow of waterways in the drainages. As a result of this, one of the causes of these problem is the misbehavior of the people towards waste management. Some people are reckless in throwing their garbage.
They do not think of the possible results of their actions on the environmental as well as on health. The effects of this harsh human action to the environment are disruption of the ozone layer and water. These can be considered as a result of improper waste disposal that occurs when either of them becomes contaminated with hazardous materials.
Moreover, reclaiming of swamps and banking waterways for construction is as well another cause of flooding in the nation’s capital of Freetown for many years. Swamp reclamation is the process by which a swamp or a wetland is drained of much of its water, allowing people to live in an area that was previously underwater or had too much water in the soil to support buildings.
This action has become a tradition in Sierra Leone where loads of people who are considered rich and have got the institutional influence from the government, have made fancy structures along waterways and risky places in the city. Even though efforts have been made to stop otherwise tend to relocate these people, yet still, they are now permanently residing in these places.
A study in 2023 revealed that one potential impact of land reclamation is the disruption of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity. When new plants and animals are introduced to an area, it can alter the balance of the existing ecosystem, which can lead to changes in predator-prey relationships and resource competition.
Finally, climate change increases the cause in flooding. Climate change results in more intense rainfall. This increases the chances of flooding. This is because warming means the air can hold more moisture (for every 1℃ of warming, the atmosphere can hold 7% more moisture) and Freetown is not an exception. OXFAM 2023 suggested.
Due to the persistent human activities to the planet such as land degradation, deforestation, cutting down of mangroves, air pollution by factories in Freetown and plastic pollution have completely affected the weather condition in many parts of the city. Owing to this, Freetown is experiencing severe rainfall every year without taking appropriate measures by the Local Council or Mayor of the city or as a result of neglect.
However, Freetown’s floods as an existing threat can only be tackled as long as these measures are taken into consideration. Leaders should immediately mobilize substantial new and additional resources to pay for climate-related damage to those who have suffered climate impacts. They can do this by contacting MPs or local councillors by themselves or through an advocacy group.
Also, they can contact them by phone, email, or social media, or get involved in local advocacy groups who do this. Educating others about the causes and impacts of climate change and flooding, and advocating for policies that will address these issues at the local, national, and global levels.
This can include participating in educational events, sharing information about climate change and flooding with your social network, and supporting organizations that are working on these issues. Equally support businesses and organizations that are taking action to reduce their carbon emissions, pivot to renewable energy and mitigate the risks of flooding.
