By Sallieu S. Kanu
From March to April this year, Freetown City Council identified 72 flooding flashpoints across the city as part of its flood mitigation efforts, with the aim of implementing critical interventions to address flooding.
To improve community resilience and reduce the effects of flooding, FCC is collaborating with communities has embarked on removal of any silt or garbage buildups affecting drainages. This exercise sometimes requires minor engineering work or repairs.
As of June 6, 2024, FCC has completed the flood mitigation efforts for 23 of the 72 identified flashpoints including —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 by Keke Garage, Texaco, Portee, Kissy Road by Kennedy Street, Fourah Bay Road by Kennedy Street, Upgun by Kissy Road Cemetery, Sarolla Old and New Road, Kroobay, Taylor Street Kissy, Congo Town, Lumley Amadu Lane Carnal and Ojuku Junction at Allen Town. To ensure community ownership of the exercise, FCC engaged an average of 50 young people daily to work on excavating silts, plastics and to clean drainages in each of the identified hotspot locations.
In the next three weeks starting on 10th June, FCC will continue the exercise and scale up with an additional 1300 young people in 10 areas: 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.
FCC has undertaken this phase of this year’s flood mitigation activities with funding support from the World Bank and GOAL Sierra Leone.
The ongoing mitigation efforts have a positive impact in the lives of Freetonians, reducing the risk of flooding and consequent loss of property.
FCC encourages Freetown residents to stop dumping dirt into gutters and illegal dump sites and support FCC’s efforts to keep Freetown clean – only use FCC’s approved waste service providers.