Disaster may visit prone communities

By Zainab Kanu

A senior official of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr. Edward Bendu,  has said that as the rains start coming those living in prone areas are exposed to a lot of disasters, like erosion, landslides and floods.

In an interview with this paper yesterday, he explained that the sand mining along the beaches in Freetown and the rapid deforestation are some of the reasons that the hillside and lowland area dwellers experience various forms of disasters every year.

Mr. Bendu also noted that even though the demand for sand is very high the people should realise that mining it without authorisation is illegal and a recipe for destruction.

He pointed out that it will be good for the appropriate authorities to enforce the law against these miners.

Also commenting on this issue, Miss Mary May-Kamara of the Office of National Security (ONS) said that they have designed activities to do community outreaches to sensitize the general public about the role erosion and reforestation play in bringing about disasters in various communities.

She disclosed that her office has put in place contingency plans to arrest any disaster that may result from the rainfall this year.