By Nasratu Kargbo
Fifteen persons have been killed in a spate of disasters caused by heavy rainstorms across the country since the start of the week.
The death toll was contained in a press release by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) dated 10th May 2023.
In an interview with Politico on the 9th May 2022, Paramount Chief Magba Koroma confirmed that six people including an Operational Support Division (OSD) Police officer were killed and thirteen others injured after a heavy rainstorm ripped apart a huge branch of an old Cotton Tree which then fell on the victims at the centre of Dalakuru in Diang Chiefdom, Koinadugu District.
According to the chief, part of the giant tree crashed into shanty houses built around it, on Saturday 6th May 2023 during the storm.
He stated that the place had been turned into a business and entertainment spot where people went to watch games, drink green tea, and shop.
The PC said that he lives thirty miles away from where the incident happened but was informed by a junior chief about it.
“The town chief called me to say that there’s been a big disaster, as a result of the heavy wind, which caused a branch of the old cotton tree at the centre of the town to fall on houses. He said six of those who were unfortunately there drinking tea and watching football games on TV got killed whilst thirteen others were injured’’, the chief said.
People in the area had to call a mining company in the village for help and which responded by sending an excavator to lift the heavy branch off so rescuers could reach the injured and retrieve bodies that were trapped underneath.
PC Koroma said that those injured are receiving treatment and recovering at the Kabala Government Hospital, whilst the six that died have been buried.
Responding to what the tree meant to residents of the community, PC Koroma said that some cotton trees are over three hundred years old, noting that theirs at Dalakuru is no exception.
He explained that in the past people do not reside in areas where there are such trees. “Our grandparents believed that where such a tree can be found is sacred. Some would go and perform sacrifices around the vicinity and in some mining communities, the spirits are believed not to like the noise, and when the place is overcrowded, they (spirits) tend to react,” said PC Koroma.
He said Africans do believe some of these things sometimes, but was quick to say that he does not believe in such, stating that the cotton tree had been there for over two hundred years, which means it is old and risky to build houses around it.
The chief stated that the area where the tree is situated is now a mining area that has attracted people from different parts of the country which has made the place hard to control as people do not adhere to warnings even when told not to build in certain areas.
In the other incidents reported by NDMA in the press release, on the 9th of May, a disaster occurred at Mile 13 along the Freetown Peninsula, where a six-storey building collapsed and trapped people beneath.
“During the search and rescue operations, three dead bodies were recovered from the rubble” a part of the release reads.
The incident also left other nearby buildings affected and the agency advised neighbours to voluntarily relocate to a safer place.
Also at Bankole Community in the Moa Wharf area, coastal Freetown where a fence collapsed and fell into five apartments leaving six people dead and two in critical condition according to the agency.
The institution’s authorities through the press release have encouraged and advised the public to stop throwing waste into drainages, ensure they trim all weak branches close to their houses, and that those living in low-lying areas move to higher ground.
The country’s Meteorological Agency in its recent forecast for the rainy season warned of the risk of strong and dusty winds, rainfall urban induced flooding, Thunder and lightning, coastal area flooding, pest insects outbreak, and the development of germs.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (12/05/23)
