People in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown are in a 'desperate situation' following days of torrential rain that has overwhelmed the city and caused a mudslide that engulfed part of a nearby town, according to a Tearfund worker there.
Hundreds of people died in what is being described as one of Africa's worst flood disasters when a mountainside collapsed on the town of Regent, while Freetown is battling against floods that have killed many more.
Emergency response teams raced to dig out survivors and dispose of bodies but the central morgue is overwhelmed and many bodies are feared trapped under mud and rubble.
Around 600 people are missing in Freetown and President Ernest Bai Koroma has described the humanitarian challenge ahead as 'overwhelming'.
The government summoned families to the morgue in a statement and said all unidentified corpses would be buried on Thursday and Friday. Aid workers said there was a high risk of disease outbreaks such as cholera, as corpses are lying in the open in the heat.
Gaston Slanwa, Tearfund's country representative in Sierra Leone, described the scene for Christian Today. He said: 'I drove around Freetown yesterday and saw several houses had disappeared, roads completely gone. On one bridge I saw two people who were already dead being pulled out of the water then put in the ambulance right before my eyes.
'In just one of the church communities we work through, 60 people have died and 300 have lost their homes. One family I met lost 22 people as their homes were swept away with them inside.'
Slanwa said: 'Tearfund has been working here for nearly 20 years and Freetown has never seen anything like this. It is a desperate situation. So many agencies are trying to rescue people but many are taking corpses to bury them.'
He said the disaster was particularly poignant as the country was just recovering from the West African Ebola crisis in 2014-16, which killed 4,000 people. 'Life was coming back to people and they were happier. Today this was gone. You can see anxiety on every person's face; there is a mood of mourning and there are constant sirens from ambulances.'
He warned of more casualties, saying: 'We are expecting more heavy rain tomorrow and there is risk of more people being swept away. People are being asked to leave but they don't know where to go. If people can't leave it's likely there will be more casualties.'
The Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone and the Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone, Tearfund partners based in Freetown, are supporting victims through opening churches and schools to provide shelter for those made homeless and working on providing food, clean water, clothing and blankets.
'One church community which Tearfund has been working with has been severely affected,' Slanwa said. 'It is heartbreaking to see this. The people had worked so hard to transform their lives, and now many members of the community are lost. But there are glimmers of encouragement – the training we gave will help those who survived get back up on their feet as quickly as possible, and they have forged a strong relationship with one of our key facilitators, Reverend Paul Conteh, who has been helping them.
'I have also seen a great outpouring of love. Hundreds of people are welcoming those fleeing the landslide into their own houses.'
He urged prayer for 'God's comfort for the hundreds of families who are affected or grieving, for our church partners on the ground who are working tirelessly to help local community members, and for improved access to roads to allow us to reach those cut off and in desperate need'.
Sierra Leone is a former British colony. The Queen sent her sympathy to those affected, saying: 'Prince Philip and I were deeply saddened to learn of the terrible flooding and landslides in Freetown that have led to the deaths of so many people.
'Our thoughts and prayers are with all who have lost loved ones and those whose homes and livelihoods have been affected.'
To donate to Tearfund's disaster relief work click here.
