Sierra Leone calls for help after mudslide kills hundreds

Sierra Leone’s president has called for “urgent support” after a mudslide killed more than 300 people Monday and engulfed hundreds of houses on the outskirts of Freetown, the country’s capital. The Red Cross estimates 600 people are still missing and warned the death toll could rise. Many of the hardest hit communities housed some of the city’s poorest in makeshift settlements. The region’s insufficient drainage system exacerbates flooding during the rainy season. Radio journalist Gibril Sesay said he lost his entire family in the disaster. “I am yet to grasp that I survived, and my family is gone,” he said, amid sobs. The mortuary in central Freetown is overwhelmed with bodies, and the country has planned a mass burial for victims by Thursday. Local officials and some international aid groups also have raised concerns that diseases such as cholera could spread rapidly. President Ernest Bai Koroma called the devastation overwhelming. The Red Cross said some 9,000 people have been affected by the disaster in some way.