Floods in Africa in August killed 25 times more people than Hurricane Harvey did
Floods in Africa in August killed 25 times more people than Hurricane Harvey did
Workers digging mass graves. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)
The rainy season is usually welcomed in parts of Africa as a timely break from the heat of the dry season. But so far, in 2017, the rains have given way to flood disasters which have led to a death toll numbering in hundreds.
Like severe floods in southern Asia, the disasters in Africa have been largely under-reported compared to similar events in Houston where Hurricane Harvey, a once in a “500-year storm” has wreaked havoc. But while the devastation in Houston could have hardly been avoided, many of the recent flood disasters in Africa have been exacerbated by years of poorly planned drainage systems. In another contrast, while rescue and relief operations in Houston have successfully saved countless lives and helped survivors, the same can’t be said in parts of Africa that have been badly flooded, worsening the death toll. Across Texas, 50 people have been reported dead due to the tropical storm but across Africa, intense rains and mudslides killed at least 1,240 people in August.
Freetown, Sierra Leone
In mid-August, Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, was rocked by its worst natural disaster in recent times as a devastating mudslide destroyed homes and buried hundreds under the debris. An unofficial death toll suggests more than 1,000 casualties as, with hundreds still missing, the possibility of finding any survivors dimmed in the days after the tragedy. Sierra Leone’s president Ernest Bai Koroma described the mudslide as overwhelming and called for “urgent support.” The mudslide comes only three years after the Ebola outbreak which killed nearly 4,000 people.
It’s not the first time Freetown—which records the highest annual rainfall in Africa—has suffered severe flooding. But the coastal city’s problems have been worsened by decades of poor waste disposal habits and the government’s lack of urban planning. More than half of homes in Freetown are defined as slums and most are built on hillside outskirts at the cost of rapid deforestation making the mudslide more devastating than it should have been.
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https://qz.com/1068790/floods-in-africa-in-august-killed-25-times-more-people-than-hurricane-harvey-did/