Nature's Nightmares
Hundreds confirmed dead in Sierra Leone mudslides
Mudslides that swept through the Regent district outside Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, early Monday have killed at least 312 people, the Red Cross confirmed to AFP, and hundreds more are missing. Part of Sugar Loaf mountain collapsed after a month of unusually heavy rains in the area, burying at least 100 properties and leaving thousands of people homeless, the BBC reports. Freetown, a coastal city of more than 1 million inhabitants, is no stranger to flooding, and as CNN's Tom Sater reports below, July and August are the wettest months for the West African nation:
The search is still underway for survivors, with people reportedly trying to dig through unstable mud with bare hands, and the death toll is expected to rise.