Disaster Simulation in Sierra Leone Helps Communities
Sierra Leone is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change, partly as a result of human-caused degradation of the environment. In September 2015, Sierra Leone’s capital encountered its most devastating floods recorded, temporarily rendering almost 5,000 people homeless, damaging properties and causing substantial impacts on local livelihoods.
The once thickly forested hill slopes of the Freetown Peninsula and western rural area, for example, are largely denuded. Many people consider the Freetown hills ideal to build homes, as they are less crowded than the densely populated lower lying areas of the city.
To prepare for similar emergencies in the future, and protect especially those communities that are most vulnerable, the Disaster Management Department (DMD) of the Office of National Security (ONS) in alliance with the Sierra Leone Meteorological Department (SLMD) organised a three-day simulation exercise.
The exercise was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through a Global Environment Facility (GEF) financed project that focuses on strengthening climate information and early warning systems for resilient development and adaptation. Members from over 50 communities living upstream and downstream from the Bumbuna Dam, the largest dam in Sierra Leone, participated in local disaster preparedness and response exercises.
Eduardo Fonseca Arraes