ROBERTSPORT, Grand Cape Mount County – Francis Gray points to a small mound under a banana tree with a yellow flower planted on the top. The tiny grave holds the remains of his 19-month-old daughter, Linda.
By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh with New Narratives
Linda was the center of Francis’ and her mother Amie Sheriff’s world until a day in August when torrential rain caused the nearby drainage ditch to swell. The little girl had been sleeping inside when her parents took advantage of some sunshine to hang clothes outside to dry. They returned to discover Linda’s lifeless body submerged in the ditch.
“Before we could come to take the child to the hospital, the child was gone. It was the water that killed the child in our hands,” said Amie.
Linda is the second child to die from drowning in the community this year. In June, two-year-old T. Boy Kamara drowned in another drainage ditch.
“His mother was putting fish on the drier, so he and the other children walked and went in front of the house,” said Boima Kazolu, T. Boy’s uncle. His grandmother Bendu Dorkorsah sat crying on a nearby bench.
Ma Bendu Dorkorsah, cries as she recalls her grandson T.Boy’s drowning
Residents say floodwaters have also polluted water sources and made a breeding ground for an army of mosquitos.
“Right now all the well waters are spoiled, even to cook, we don’t have good water, and we can buy sacks of water to cook and even drink,” said Annie Flomo, a mother of four, crying.
Heavy rain has brought some of the worst flooding in memory across the country. Liberia’s National Disaster Management Agency has confirmed nine people have died and more than 100,000 in sixty communities have been driven from their homes.
“We are overwhelmed we do not have the resources to cover the entire country,” Disaster Management Agency chief Ansu Dorley told state radio in October. “We have situations all across the country. This is a learning curve for us so we need to put more resources into the National disaster management.”
Experts say this should have come as no surprise. A World Bank 2024climate report projected more heavy rain this year. Climate change has been making things worse year by year. Funds to help flood victims this year have come exclusively from international donors. In August, the World Food Program provided $US1.5 million assistance to 26,000 flood victims. Before that they only support was $US500,000 through the Red Cross. First responders say it’s not enough.
“If you have more than 60 communities all over the country affected and thousands of people needing help, there’s very little you can do,” said Gregory Blamoh, Red Cross Secretary General. “It means then that we (the Liberian government) have to bear a larger part of our burden. You were seeing these developed countries that are also suffering from flooding. China was flooded, Japan was flooded, and parts of America and Europe were flooded. If they have to spend their money that means they don’t have much to help people like us.”
Climate Change Set to Shrink Liberia’s Economy By 15 Percent if Nothing is Done
Experts say climate change impacts are getting worse faster than expected. People are not just losing their homes. They’re also losing their livelihoods. The World Bank warned that if nothing is done, climate change could shrink Liberia’s economy by 15 percent and push 1.3 million more people into poverty by 2050.
That’s already happening here in Robertsport. It has been hit by two climate disasters.
Heavy rains caused the nearby lagoon and Lake Piso to flood low-lying areas of the community. At the same time rising ocean levels – caused by melting polar ice caps – are adding to their problems.
Annie Flomo cried as she described her family’s devastation
Forty-five-year-old Annie Flomo is a fishmonger and single mother of four who used to spend her days drying and selling fish to support her family. That all changed one night in October when flood waters swept away her home, her fish, and everything she owned.
“The children were sleeping, and the water came with force,” she said. “We were all running around and fighting for the children.” There has been little support. Annie does not know what she’ll do now. “We did not see the superintendent. We did not see anybody from this county to come to our rescue,” she said. “We lost everything because of the way the water came, we did not take anything. I only came out with these clothes you see on me.”
Liberia’s national seafood supplies have also been impacted. The town’s only cold storage once supplied thousands of kilograms of fish to customers weekly according to manager Archie Noni. It was wiped away.
“This 2024 we won’t have the cold storage anymore. We just got one big box that we are managing to keep people’s fish,” Mr. Noni said. “For now, we are not actually earning anything. The maximum we now store per week is around hundred fifty kilos.”
People here are considering moving. That will only add to the growing crises in urban areas and Liberia’s illegal mine sites. People will also be vulnerable to trafficking scams. But people like Francis see little other choice.
“August rain was heavy and then the hunger was too much,” Francis said. “We want to move but we don’t have anything and anywhere to go.”
Award-winning environmental expert, Silas Siakor, has described this year’s flooding as unprecedented and urged the government to invest in mitigation measures such as strengthening housing and urban development policies and adopting agricultural practices that safeguard communities from environmental risks.
“This is only going to get worse in poor countries like Liberia and that’s the reason why… we need to be taking steps to ensure that we are protecting ourselves,” said Siakor.
As climate change impacts worsen there will be fewer and fewer places that are safe in Liberia. Experts say time is running out to save lives and livelihoods in years to come.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives. Funding was provided by the American Jewish World Service. The funder had no say in the story’s content.
