June 11, 2024, In a proactive move to enhance community resilience and combat flooding, the Freetown City Council (FCC) has engaged over 1,000 youths in flood mitigation activities across the city. This initiative follows the identification of 72 flooding flashpoints in Freetown between March and April of this year, and to address these critical areas, the FCC is collaborating with local residents to clear silt and garbage build-ups that obstruct drainage systems, thereby reducing the risk of flooding.
As of today, flood mitigation efforts have successfully been completed at 24 of the identified flashpoints, which include key locations such as Samba Gutter, Bright Street, Eastern Street, Murray Town Junction, Sir Samuel Lewis Road, Sanders Street, Wilkinson Road, Krootown Road, Tengbeh Town, Robert Street, Sengbe Pieh Bridge, Blackhall Road near Keke Garage, Texaco, Portee, Kissy Road near Kennedy Street, Fourah Bay Road near Kennedy Street, Upgun by Kissy Road Cemetery, Sarolla Old and New Road, Kroobay, Taylor Street in Kissy, Congo Town, Lumley Amadu Lane, Carnal, and Ojuku Junction at Allen Town.
To ensure community ownership of the initiative, the FCC has engaged an average of 50 youths daily to assist with cleaning gutters and waterways in these hotspots. Over the next three weeks, the FCC plans to expand its efforts by involving an additional 1,300 youths in tackling flooding at sites such as Sani Abacha Street, Model Junction, Fourah Bay Road by Bishop Johnson Memorial School, Patton Street, Calaba Town/Mayekineh, Phillip Street, Ashobi Corner, Wellington Old Road by Water Street, and Regent Road-Lumley.
This phase of flood mitigation activities is supported by funding from the World Bank and GOAL Sierra Leone. A second phase is scheduled to commence in late July, and the flood mitigation activities are supervised by the FCC’s Climate Action & Disaster Management and Sanitation Committees, with implementation carried out by the FCC Disaster Risk Management Unit. These efforts aim to mitigate the immediate risks of flooding and prevent property loss.
While the FCC is focused on immediate flood risks, it acknowledges that sustainable flood risk reduction requires comprehensive waste management solutions for hard-to-reach communities in the hills surrounding Freetown. Additional measures include effective restrictions on deforestation to prevent silt runoff from the mountains, behavior change incentives for residents, and strong enforcement of sanitation bylaws, which are currently progressing through the legislative process.
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE urges Freetonians to support the FCC’s ongoing sanitation efforts by refraining from dumping waste in gutters and waterways and to utilize only FCC-approved waste service providers.