The torrential rains are here. And again, another set of people are complaining about its effect. This time, the lives of family members of 15 households residing in Loko Town by Wisdom Tree off Regent Road in Gloucester Village overlooking Regent and Leicester communities are being endangered by a sinkhole they said suddenly appeared at 6 am on Friday 21st August 2020. The entire community is still in total shock, and still waiting to hear from government experts to interpret exactly what is happening to their soil, as well as on their security and safety.
“I woke up that morning trying to fetch coal in order to prepare water for my children and to as well prepare our morning meal. To my surprise while trying to come down the stairways to our house, I saw a deep sinkhole underneath the building. I was shocked because the hole was not there the previous night. I recall late on the previous day, Thursday 20th August, I sent one of my children to fetch coal from under the stairway where we put the bags of coal for safe keeping,” said Marie Sesay, a family member believed to be the first to see the sinkhole on the land.
The Head Man for Gloucester Village, Frederick Hanciles, said they were in Waterloo attending a meeting when he received calls from the village informing him about a strange hole that was discovered that morning. He said based on the many calls they had to cut short the meeting and rushed to the scene. He said they were speechless when they saw the sinkhole, and immediately called on government for an interpretation and response. Although no life was lost, Chief Hanciles is fearful of the appearance of the sinkhole especially when they reside on a hill at this period of torrential rains, and is worried about his children’s and people’s safety. He pleaded with government for a speedy response, even relocation, and proper interpretation of the strength and makeup of the soil in the area.
Aminata Kanu, mother of three at Gloucester, said, “This is where our children used to play. This place is almost like a playground for all our children in the neighbourhood because it is free and spacious for them; and as parents, whenever they are here playing, we are comfortable and sure of their safety. We are grateful that the soil sank at night. Imagine if it was daytime, it would have caused great loss to the village and the nation.” Elder Pa James Kanu recalled that when he was still a young man they used to visit the sinkhole spot especially for the various fruit trees that were planted there. He said the area where the sinkhole appeared was a dumping site used by the community, “because water used to settle there and when it rained, a lot of water will settle on the spot for certain period before it disappears”.
Pa Kanu said the community dumped trash on that land until it was completely filled, and alleged that one of the landowner’s sons cleared the trees and constructed a new building on the land. He said he has never seen a sinkhole on the land in question, but recalled it had happened on a nearby land. Santigie Kargbo recalled that up to 1990 the spot was still used by the community, because of the hole that was there, not only as a dumping site but for circumcisions of boys including him.
He said the pit was later closed causing the community to stop using it as a dumping ground, “until Friday morning when we were awaken with the news that it has a sinkhole”. Kargbo said at a nearby place called Songo Town in the Leicester Peak area, a similar sinkhole appeared but locals closed it using stones and soil.
According to https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-sinkhole?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products, a sinkhole is a depression in the ground that has no natural external surface drainage; when it rains, all of the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface.
Sinkholes are most common in “Karst terrain,” a region where the types of rock below the land surface can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. Soluble rocks, salt beds and domes, gypsum, and limestone are highly susceptible to sinkholes. Mostly when water from rainfall moves down through the spoil, these types of rock begin to dissolve and create underground spaces and caverns. “Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a period of time until the underground spaces just get too big and if there is not enough support for the land above the spaces, then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur,” according to the site.
The Acting Western Area Rural District Security Coordinator in the Office of the National Security (ONS), Josephine Saffa, said their office is presuming that the place is not safe and advised whosoever is presently residing around where the sinkhole is, to temporarily relocate to a safer place because the soil is becoming loose and with more rains there is a tendency that it will be fragile due to the downward trending of the soil. Saffa said that’s the only recourse to avoiding danger and ensuring the safety of residents, “which is why we are calling on them to move to a safe place as they await response from government and their experts on the issue”.
The Acting Director, Disaster Management Department ONS, Sinneh Mansaray, said the Gloucester sinkhole is not normal, adding sinkhole disasters are unusual in Sierra Leone. Based on their poor knowledge of the incident, he said they are currently coordinating with other experts and ministries to have a comprehensive assessment of the sinkhole, as sinkholes require technical expertise to analyse and do a professional assessment.
However, he said despite their warnings to the community to stay away from the scene, they were informed that residents have already started filling the sinkhole with stones. Tinga Andrew Kanu, one of the sons and owner of the house where the sinkhole appeared, said he was not at home when the sinkhole appeared, but upon arrival he instructed the young men in the community to assist in filling the sinkhole. He said the more stones they put into the hole, the wider it got.
Kanu disclosed having bought more stones to fill the hole, saying he was expecting government to have collected samples of the soil to conduct their tests and give professional advice. “Since they are not in the position to assess the disaster, as a community, we are going to manually close the sinkhole.” Head Man Frederick Hanciles said without the collection of soil samples to properly assess the hole and potential for disaster, he is not in favour of the community’s suggestion to close the sinkhole.
He said the appearance of the sinkhole is a strange event for them, but government’s failure to engage the community on a comprehensive assessment of the disaster is worrisome. According to Service Master (https://www.servicemastertampabay.com/article/sinkhole-disaster-how-to-get-your-home-back), “There are several methods for getting the sinkhole repaired, but the most common one is getting it filled with a mixture of substances, including sand and cement. This can also help reduce the chance that the sinkhole will reopen or spread.” The Head of Disaster at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Swarray, confirmed being briefed on the incident, but said he cannot grant an interview as yesterday was Monday, “so I cannot comment on anything regarding the sinkhole until we have an inter-ministerial meeting”.
By Mohamed Kabba