The Sierra Leone government must relocate people living in all flood plains and ensure the proper management of the drainage infrastructure as part of a permanent solution to the perennial problem of flooding in Freetown, a new report has suggested.
The “Storm water Drainage Master Plan for the Municipality of Freetown,” an assessment of the capital city’s drainage system and its vulnerability to flooding, revealed that with an increasing level of rainfall, flooding can only be prevented if deforestation is also stopped. The authors of the report also said the government must introduce and implement appropriate legislations that promote prudent environmental management.
The study was conducted by consultants from AMC & Associates, Bowling International and Planning Green Futures, and the report was presented to officials of the Ministry of Works and Public Assets, and the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) last Wednesday.
The report notes two types of flooding that normally occur in Freetown: street flooding and catastrophic flooding.
Dr. Sayedul H. Choudhury, one of the authors of the report, explained that street flooding is associated with small overflowing, frequency channels, and local ponding, while catastrophic flooding results in a significant frequent flooding that often destroys homes and lives.
The study involved some 600 interviews and survey of 477 sites within the city.
Engineer Amara Kanneh, Director General of SLRA, said the master plan is important to the Authority as when flooding occurs they in the road sector are affected.
“The drainage master plan would help us to find a lasting solution to disaster,” Mr Kanneh said at the presentation ceremony held at the offices of SLRA, according to a dispatch by the Strategic Communication Unit at State House.
“Government has now introduced a monthly cleaning exercise and that would help to clear drainages as well,” he added.
Minister of Works and Public Assets, Peter Bayoku Conteh, hopes the findings of the study will help Sierra Leoneans to change their “negative” ways towards the environment, citing in particular the practice of disposing waste in drainages, which is a major contributing factor to flooding.
“We now have a government that is very serious to improve the infrastructure set up of the country, and engineers are taken very crucial in this regard. Our government is taking disaster mitigation seriously, especially now that we are in the rains,” he said.
© 2019 Politico Online
