Tuesday, 2 March 2021

Emphasizing the Geological Context and Statistical Assessment of the Impacts of Sugarloaf Twin Disasters, in Western Sierra Leone | Chapter 7 |International Research in Environment, Geography and Earth Science Vol. 8

Sierra Leone, like any other country, loses lives, property, and natural resources when natural disasters occur. Despite the country's history of small disasters, the sugarloaf landslide and subsequent flash flood (twin disasters) that hit Regent and other communities on August 14, 2017 have garnered national and international attention due to their devastating consequences. Landslides are a major geologic threat that can result in deaths and severe property damage. To gain a deeper understanding of the disasters' existence, this thesis looked at the geological background of the landslide and concentrated on statistical analysis of the twin disasters' impacts using the Statistical Kit for Social Sciences (SPSS). As research methods, geological field-based approaches and self-administered questionnaires for both closed and open-ended questions, personal interviews, and observations were used. The data from the study was analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis. Tv, television discussions, and the internet were also used to search for applicable literature in books, journals, and newspapers. The geology of subsurface formation (highly weathered olivine gabbro), lineaments, and the rate of weathering were all related to slope destabilisation that triggered the Landslide. The twin disasters had major economic, social, and political implications, according to the report. Families supported the victims the most in both financial and non-financial ways, according to the report, and there was systematic misappropriation of donated disaster funds. The hypothesis was accepted by all variables evaluated using the student t-distribution and the chi-square test of freedom. The results of this study may be extremely useful to policymakers and development practitioners [1]. The study found that geological conditions were the most significant factor in the rainfall-caused sugarloaf landslide, which was underlain by fractured/jointed/bedded gabbroic rocks. Lineaments in the upper part of the slope (faults, fractures, and joint sets) greatly affected the occurrence of landslides under gravity's influence and shaped the sliding shape.

Author (s) Details

Yusuf A. Lahai
Department of Geology, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Prince S. Lahai Jr.
Department of Library, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

View Book :- https://stm.bookpi.org/IREGES-V8/issue/view/37

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