A Devastating Mudslide Killed Hundreds in Sierra Leone and the Death Toll Keeps Climbing

SIERRA LEONE— According to the Red Cross, at least 312 people were found dead and 2000 people have been made homeless after a hillside collapsed in the Freetown suburb of Regent earlier today. The Sierra Leonean local TV station interrupted its scheduled broadcast to show devastating images of people looking for their loved ones amid the torrential mud.

The capital is in a state of emergency as the morgues have reached their capacity and the death toll continues to increase.

Flooding in Freetown, Sierra Leone pic.twitter.com/2g6zEVdkbC

— Francis Reffell (@francisreffell) August 14, 2017

"Increasingly frequent deluges disproportionately affect those living in informal settlements" #Freetown #floods https://t.co/vVgG9I8ocX pic.twitter.com/QvGUxrkcYy

— Jamie Hitchen (@jchitchen) August 14, 2017

"It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble,” the country’s Vice President,Victor Foh, told Reuters. "The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken. We're trying to cordon [off] the area (and) evacuate the people," he added.

#SOS Sierra Leone desperately needs international assistance following on from floods & mudslides in #Freetown. pic.twitter.com/yOLyoM9T9U

— Mark T Jones (@MarkTJones500) August 14, 2017

Sierra Leone frequently experiences floods.  In 2015, ten people were killed and thousands became homeless in floods caused by the monsoon rains. Areas like Regent which are populated by informal settlements are even more vulnerable to these heavy rains. is not unusual in Sierra Leone, where unsafe housing in makeshift settlements can be swept away by heavy rains.