People queue to register at the Saio Elementary Community School after the mudslides in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, on Aug. 19, 2017. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday said that more than 400 people had lost their lives in the mudslides that had occurred on Aug. 14 and that several hundred people were still missing, meaning that the death toll could still increase. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)
FREETOWN, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank Group Country Manager in Sierra Leone said Tuesday that the Bank had provided 13 million U.S. dollars as part of its immediate response to the flood and mudslide disaster that killed hundreds of people in Freetown and left thousands homeless.
Parminder Brar was addressing journalists at the head office in Freetown about the financial response from the Bank.
He said earlier this month the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development approached the Bank for financial support to deal with the crisis, as well as a request to undertaking an immediate disaster and loss assessment that would inform the recovery process.
He disclosed that the Bank had deployed a Specialist Disaster Management Team in Freetown to work with the government, United Nations Agencies and local organizations in a coordinated way to assess the immediate needs in short and medium term.
The World Bank Manager said the bank was doing a multi-city hazardous assessment for three cities-Freetown, Makeni and Bo, and that the study would be completed in November this year and it would be presented to the country's president.
He noted that the initial report that the Bank had offered 500 million U.S. dollars to support disaster in the country was not true.
"On the side of the World Bank, we have offered 13 million U.S. dollars as part of the immediate response to disaster. And some people say it was reported that the World Bank offered 500 million dollars for disaster, not that, it is not the case," he said.
He stated that an additional three million dollars would be provided from existing projects which would meet immediate needs as well as be used for rebuilding critical infrastructure.
