Abstract
In the event of natural disasters, Sierra Leone like any other country loses lives as well as properties and natural resources. Despite notable occurrences of small disasters in the country, only on August 14th sugarloaf landslide and the resulting flash flood (twin disasters) which affected Regent and other communities in 2017 have captured both national and international attention due to their alarming impacts. To obtain a better knowledge on the nature of the disasters, this research considered the geological context of the landslide and focused on statistical analysis of the impacts of the twin disasters using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Geological field-based approach and self-administered questionnaires of both closed and open-ended questions, personal interviews and observations were adopted as research techniques. Descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis were used to analyze the data of the research. Relevant literature from books, journals, and newspapers was also consulted, including Radio, Television discussions and the internet. Slope destabilization that caused the Landslide was linked to the geology of sub-surface formation (highly weathered olivine gabbro), lineaments and the rate of weathering. Study showed remarkable economic, social and political impacts as a consequence of the twin disasters. Study also revealed that families assisted the most in both financial and non-financial ways to the victims, and renowned misappropriation of donated disaster funds. All variables tested using student t-distribution and chi-square test of independence accepted the hypothesis. Information obtained from this work could be fundamental for policy makers and development practitioners (Osuteye & Leck, 2017).
Highlights
Landslides are ascertained as serious natural hazard common to mountainous or steep land areas across the continents; including Europe, Asia, South/North America and Africa
The Western flank is steeper than 60 degree towards the head scarp and a range between 20 and 30 degrees at the bench, where as the slope of the eastern flank is greater than 45 degree at the top and between 20 - 25 degrees towards bench
The much visible major fracture set at the headscarp has a WNW-ESE trending
Summary
Landslides are ascertained as serious natural hazard common to mountainous or steep land areas across the continents; including Europe, Asia, South/North America and Africa. Igwe (2017) reported that similar landslide incidences have claimed the lives of 4000 people over the past 10 years, and the loss of multi-million dollar resources each year in Africa (McAllister, 2017). These have posed serious constraints on the economic development of these developing countries, where the economic loss due to its impacts often distinguishes between economic growth and stagnation (Westen, 2000)
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