What are the causes of the Sierra Leone's mudslide?

What are the causes of the Sierra Leone's mudslide?

This event occurred back in 14 August 2017 in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has been one of the countries in West Arica to be hit with worst natural disasters in multiply years. According to National Geographic, "every year, intense rains fall throughout Sierra Leone. In a dataset of annual precipitation by rainfall, Sierra Leone falls at number 12 globally". From 2013 to 2017, Sierra Leone has been receiving rain in about 2,500mm. As a result for this years event, about 400 people were death and more than 600 people are still missing. Many have asked why this mudslide occurred after a heavy rain and became the worst one yet. First of all let us discuss the true meaning of a mudslide. A mudslide is a pile of mud that follows a river-like path during an intense rainfall. As we all know it takes a long time to rain during dry periods in Africa. When it rains, the ground becomes flooded with water and during this event, the ground become over flooded with water during this time of the year for the people of Sierra Leone. According to National Geographic, "when the ground eventually gives way, mudslides can rapidly speed up and pick up heavy boulders and rocks capable of intense damage". One cause of the event was believed to be deforestation. Deforestation occurs when the roots of trees are removed from the ground, which triggers deadly mudslides when it rains. A possible way this event could have been prevented was that the government could have taken action when the Environment Protection Agency made it aware of the slope's potential threats two weeks before the event.