First mass burials for Sierra Leone flood victims

The first mass burials of victims of Sierra Leone’s devastating floods and mudslides take place on Thursday, as blame grows over government “inaction” over deforestation and poor urban planning.

As it emerged that at least 105 of the dead were children, citizens and experts alike questioned why the government of President Ernest Bai Koroma had not done more to tackle illegal construction in the overcrowded capital Freetown.

Aid organizations have warned that the rainy season is not yet over and that more flooding could arrive at any moment in the west African coastal city of around 1 million people.

The disaster began on Monday when heavy rains hit the city and the partial collapse of a hillside triggered mudslides, engulfing homes and wreaking destruction. Although the death toll is officially 300, rescue workers privately agree the toll is far higher. An unofficial morgue toll put the number of deaths from 400.

Citizens were given the deadline of Wednesday evening to identify their loved ones at the overflowing central morgue, and the first mass burials will begin at 3 pm ( 1500 GMT) in Waterloo, a nearby town where many victims of the Ebola crisis that hit the nation in 2014 were also laid to rest. The burial of bags filled with body parts has already taken place but Thursday marks the first burials of corpses in a ceremony to be attended by Koroma.

For the thousands of homeless, UN agencies distributed food and hygiene kits to those sheltering in government centers and in the homes of neighbors and family members.