Monrovia – Health and hygiene remain challenging for Lower Margibi County flood disaster victims, who are currently returning homes, following weeks of being displaced.
Report by Willie N. Tokpah, [email protected]
The flood disaster recently caused hundreds of residents mostly, women and children to escape their homes as the water level rose.
But some victims, who have become returning told FrontPageAfrica over the weekend, that their water sources still remain contaminated, homes exposed to insects and diseases while their latrine facilities are dilapidated.
The Disaster Management Agency recently gave an alert on the rise in water-borne diseases in the country, owing from the level of devastation caused by flood not only in Margibi County but also Montserrado as well.
Due to this, the victims said, they fear using water sources within their environs for mainly drinking and cooking; they also have no better latrine facility.
“Our septic tanks are all filled with water while the pumps we have for drinking purpose are not in good conditions because water covered the whole area. It is possible that dirt and diseases have entered into these pumps, so drinking from them is risky for us,” Romeo Namo, one of the victims, who has returned, said.
“The usage of the contaminated water sources,” according to them, “could lead to deaths as a result of waterborne disease.”
They are calling on the government to help address difficulties faced in fetching safe drinking water.
The Liberia National Red Cross Society in conjunction with the National Disaster Management Agency and other international partners has been addressing some of the challenges being faced by the victims.
Red Cross has provided food and non-food items to some of the victims, who were internally displaced, and others, who had no means of leaving their flooded communities.
Red Cross Communications Manager, Mr. O’Neal Bestman told FPA that Red Cross in collaboration with the Liberia Refugee Repatriation Resettlement Commission and partners is currently helping the affected residents return to their homes.
Bestman also stated that the health conditions of the returnees are of grave concern and must be addressed immediately.
“We are currently trying to engage some of our national and international partners to help us with funding so that we may be able to come in to look at the health, sanitation and hygiene conditions of these people,” Bestman asserted.
“Remember that there was an alert of a possible rise in diseases as a result of the flood and that is also our concern, too.”
Continuous rainfall since July 13, 2018 caused heavy flood in Monrovia and other parts of Montserrado, Grand Bassa and Margibi Counties.
An assessment by the National Disaster Management Agency revealed that over 30,000 people from approximately 2,500 homes in these locals were affected.
Initial assessment report indicates that many homes were destroyed, forcing occupants to seek temporary shelters in schools, churches, mosques and other public facilities.
While Liberia is poised to experience heavy rainfall in the next three months, victims are currently worried about their safety.
“These schools we’ve been using as temporary shelters will soon open. We have to leave the churches and schools as well as the mosques. We are worrying because Liberia is still experiencing the Rainy Season. Something needs to be done about our condition,” Solomon Whleyou, another of the victims, stated.
A Norwegian meteorological website recently alerted that Liberia should brace itself for a heavy downpour of rain in the coming days.