Silent thread for Sierra Leone Disaster..300 dead..600 missing.. [View all]

[HipChick]

An estimated 9,000 people have been affected in some way by the disaster, said Abdul Nasir, program coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"I have never seen anything like it," he said. "A river of mud came out of nowhere and swallowed entire communities, just wiped them away. We are racing against time, more flooding and the risk of disease to help these affected communities survive and cope with their loss."

Charles Mambu, a civil society activist and resident of one affected area, Mount Sugar Loaf, said the magnitude of the destruction indicated that hundreds more people could be dead.

In one sign of hope, two people were pulled alive from the debris Monday evening, Mambu said.

The U.N. said it is providing emergency response assistance.

http://time.com/4899839/freetown-sierra-leone-mudslide/?utm_campaign=time&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&xid=time_socialflow_twitter