By Bill W. Cooper
Residents of 18th Street, Sinkor in Monrovia on June 26, 2020 were awoken to a news of disaster after a concrete fence had collapsed and fallen on several houses leaving a 2-week old baby and 4 others dead with several others left homeless.
The incident reportedly occurred around 3:00 A.M. to 4:00 A.M. while residents were all asleep during a two-night of torrential rainfall across Monrovia and its environs.
Some victims who our reporter managed to speak to, said that early Friday morning saga took them by surprise, as they and their families were asleep, when the wall fell on their houses, stating that due to the quantity of water, other residents could not get to their rescue.
They added that the most frustrating part was that, the incident did not only render them homeless but also took away the lives of some of their relatives and community dwellers, while at the same time called on the government and other well-meaning Liberians to help them in finding a long-lasting solution aimed at enabling them to jumpstart their lives.
The grandfather of the 2-week old baby, Lincoln Kollie in tears, expressed his frustration over the death of his granddaughter, crying, “My granddaughter is gone, I don’t have any place to sleep and don’t know what to do now at this state of my life.”
Mr. Kollie further called on President Weah, other government officials and philanthropists to render him urgent assistance to enable him renew his livelihood.
Also speaking at the incident site, Monrovia City Cooperation (MCC) Mayor, Jefferson T. Koijee expressed his utmost dismay over the incident, while at the same time promised that he will ensure that the government helps in relocating the victims at the soonest possible time.
For his part, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Executive Director, Henry O. Williams expressed his sympathy to the victims of the flood, while stressing the needs for more subsidies to enable the Agency’s timely intervention in times of disasters.
ED Williams further assured the victims that the NDMA will speedily investigate to ascertain the actual cause of the collapsing of the wall, while at the same time promised President Weah’s timely intervention.