Christian leaders in Sierra Leone have called for people to continue praying for those affected by a mudslide that swept away homes on the edge of the nation’s capital of Freetown.
“Please continue to pray with us”, Bishop Arnold Temple, from the Methodist Church Sierra Leone, said in comments reported by the World Council of Churches. One of the key leaders involved in the response to the disaster which took place on 14th August, Bishop Temple was among denominational leaders who has visited the disaster area at Sugar Loaf Mountain.
About 500 people are believed to have died in the mudslide and hundreds more are still missing. More than 3,000 people have been left homeless.
United Methodist Bishop John K Yambasu, president of the Sierra Leone Council of Churches, said the disaster was unprecedented.
“Never in the history of the city have we experienced such a magnitude of sickening and horrifying disaster with houses buried, whole families missing and bodies discovered with dismembered parts,” he said.
Describing it as a “needless and preventable disaster”, he said the destruction of natural vegetation on the mountain due to farming, and wood for fuel and for building houses, as well as mining for stone, has made the region vulnerable to excessive water runoff and mudslides during the rainy season.
“We give thanks to God for those who survived the disaster and pray for the many others who lost their lives. As a nation, our most urgent responsibility now is to be in solidarity with the thousands of those who survived the disaster.”
Bishop Yambasu called on government officials to expedite the identification and burial of bodies to prevent other unintended health consequences and said registering survivors and providing temporary shelter would allow other agencies to distribute relief items to the survivors. He also called on churches to donate food, clothing, blankets and other items.
Churches across Sierra Leone held special services on Sunday in memory of those killed.
Earlier, Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, offered his condolences to those affected and noted that the disaster came “at a time when the people of Sierra Leone are still recovering from the devastation of an Ebola outbreak”.
“We will hold on to God’s promises that give us hope. I remain in mourning and in hope with you, dear sisters and brothers.”
The World Health Organization said earlier this week that it was working closely with the Sierra Leone Government to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like malaria and cholera in the aftermath of the disaster.
